₦airaland Forum

The Thirty-fourth Verse: I Belong Here

I belong here, with you
Black American Negroes
Take me into your arms
I am your son
Hitherto I was not a nigger
I was pure African
My ancestors never tilled
The white enslavers’ farms like yours did
I had never sympathized with Roots
That long tale of Haley’s
Though I had seen Kunta whipped to Toby
And had seen the men in chain gangs
As they made their way from Mississippi                                                                              
To the cotton fields
Passing by the blocks
And through the fires of brands
Bearing the white man’s name,
I had heard your Negro Spirituals
Your voices reaching out to God
Hoping you would live to see the day                                                                                  
When you would be free to
Do what you wanted
Go where you wanted
Serve yourself and your children alone,
I had heard of Rosa ’s defiance
Seen Luther King’s fights;
I had grasped the roles of Booker and Du Bois;
I had glowed with pride at the
First generation of swarthy American leaders
Preaching a revolution that was slow but sure
I had stayed home in the motherland and seen and heard it all;
Now I reach out in person
I come to you at last
A latter-day prophet
A missionary from the ancient land
Bringing my heart and my hand
Hoping to reclaim yours in love and forgiveness.
It is true we sold you off
It was my fathers that gave you away
Though we had once been brothers
Back home in the jungles
Where we chased the monkeys and squirrels
Where we set traps to catch the antelopes
That made us envious by their leaps
We would catch a canary and run home to show mama
She would cook the bird meat in hot oil
And give us some to eat with
The hot water-yam porridge
She would make a pot of stew
Leaving some beside the stones
For papa’s return from the daily hunt
Warm and ready for his taste;
We played swell as children
Hopping over stones
Thrown on ruled spaces
In the sand
In company with one another
Joyfully
We were thrilled to be alive
Gleeful for the gainly season
We spent all our time
Catching up with the birds and rodents
Some brought down by our catapults
Others caught in our traps
Happy
We trilled and shouted
Skipped amok
To the dancing cymbals, timbrels and drums
Ululating in glorious spectacular rendition
Till the dusk stopped our further play.
It was sadness the day you left
I asked after you, but was told lies
I was told you were harried away and stolen
By solemn, severe strangers
That you would long be outcasts and scum of earth
That you had been sacrificed to certain
White gods that had come with spear noses from far away
That your lot was fixed for eternity
Lawfully sold bondmen
Who would never think
Never feel the air in their faces while
Lolling by the streams as we did back home;
I did not believe their lies
I wanted to see for myself
I missed your company
I had to visit you
That is why I have come
I have come to stay with you
To love you
Die with you;
Tell me about your oppressors
Of those white gods with spear noses
That my fathers told me about
What did they do to you
Did they bite?
Were they like the poison eke
Did they kill?
Were they like the hateful fox
That ate all our many lambs?
Did they rape our sisters?
Those virgins that made us stare lewdly as if at Aru
As their breasts tormented us and we dreamt
For it was dreaming only that helped
We longed to hear them moan and scream our names beneath us
Our shafts tearing away at what they had hidden for so long
Excited to watch the sport of torsos in the grey
Darkness of the lewdly night.
Sibling,
I am here now
Tell me everything I need to know
Do not drive me away
I am like Ruth
Teach me
Show me
Let me be like you.


(Culled from The African Verses)

Do you guys sometimes take time out to think about the slaves that were sold very long time ago to the white man? They went in sea-going vessels to a new land. They toiled for the white man for very many years, and even when they were free they could not find their way home.

Most of them were sold. Their own black brothers sold them for money. They saw them whipped and dragged aboard the white man's ships. The stranger from afar had given the sellers cloth, gin, mirrors, gun-powder and cowrie shells. In turn, they bound up their brothers and sold them off.

The ships went on the ro-ro water; the sickening feel in the dark bottoms of undulating vessels. The Negro sufferer went, singing in pain, the pain of betrayal, the betrayal of his own black brother. The black brother that had sold him.

They were slaves going abroad to a foreign land, never to see their home again. And they sang, and they wept:

Simbalele, simbalele sojunu
Simbalele, simbalele sojunu
Simbalele, simbalele sojunu nonarabo

The white man whipped this swarthy slave, twack! But for each lash, it was not the physical pain that hurt; it was the treachery of having been sold by their own to strangers from afar. Even as they dug in the heat, with the scorching sun beating staccato on their backs; even as they starved, could find little to excite, it was the treachery, yes, the very treachery and not the physical pain that made them weep. They had been betrayed by their brothers. What could they then expect from those not their kin? And in the bitterness of their souls they sang:

Simbalele, simbalele sojunu
Simbalele, simbalele sojunu
Simbalele, simbalele, sojunu nonarabo.

It was the pain of despair, with nowhere for them to go to. The gates were closed against them. Freedom was to mean something else than returning home. Home that no longer welcomed them. Home that threw them out in the first place. And where exactly is home anyway? Is it not where you are loved, accepted and preserved? But where, o where would these ones find home, spit out as they had been by their very own?

Would they find home in the skies? No; the sky is for birds.
Would they find home in the seas? No; the sea is for fish;
Would they find home in the branches of the many trees?
Ah no! Trees are for squirrels, those tiny furry animals that run with skimpy legs.
So where would the rejected black brother find a home?
He would long for freedom's day.
He would long for when Olisa called him home.

This black man has no home.

stannesi:
Sup buddies, ?

Omo forget, every country get he own wahala, God dey our side. equally, its an individual thing, u might be d reason why fire never burn your homes, u can never say, d thanks u give to God, might be what is going to save u from experiencing one terrible disaster,

Aniffy sorry o i don't forget say na u be CEO, no vex, i don rephrase, lol

Omo forget say hurricane, cylone, earthquake no dey Naija, d one wey Iyabo Obadanjo wetin we go call am, all this wahala don pass fraud and corruption this own na correct "Human Disaster" anyhow sha i love Naija pass any other, after all dey don dey yan say Osama don release anoter video album,
@keno u know say too much civilization na him dey cause all dose rubbish, that won wey u yan sef, na small some thin, sha, its like u don know some bad sides of your country. Naija na Kolo,

d turth is that u guys actually missed AlfaPrime's point, from my own kolo view he was talkin about hw God bless Naija. from Natural disaster, terrorism and stuffs like that not talkin about weird happenings, abi u don forget before den dey snatch private parts anyhw 4 naija, hw weird is that too, imagine, hw would (since we are all males) d victim be when his alive without his, source of creation, hmmmm, F**ked.

@Kuwena, omo seriously yankee fit u wella, because u need a special therapist, all this yarn twisted yans na wa ooo,
i ba for u oooo, today na, litany, tomorow na cult, another na sacrifice, another repentance, next tomorw na 100 man factory, your head carry enough, i hail oo u dey try, u know me now, i'm no adviser, if u like work oo no work, u go still go yankee, after all no be only 4 Naija den dey sleep under bridge, ha ha, enjoy yourself, "i'm such a terrible friend, i know don't even border thinkin it because i hav said it". figure it out, its in u, u're Leo da vincii remember, d genius, lol

Aniffy, Ma Bday was on d 16th, so its passed my Mama is today, damn, i hardly remember people's bday mostly especially mine, damn, to bad

Hav a nice day.

I guess that's double baffdays. Congrats, to you and ya mama.

Alfa, Nigeria is one place where as a sharp babe you can study Ibo Linguistics and be fortunate enough to work in Banking Operations without fear.

aniffy4eva:
kidnap me ke? don't you know i have black belts in karate, judo, taekwando, kick boxing. . , etc.

@ kuwena

Hey! I hope you are cool. Well, my candid advice is this: If you don't have enough money, then working till June/ July may not be a bad idea. I know you hate the job, but 2 extra months wont kill you. . . . You've endured this long, so just persevere.

@ Stannesi

I am not yet a chairman o! . . . but anyhwooo, nothing do you o!

@ kenosky

How do you feel coming home so soon? If you like, make you come bonny empty handed. . . . . .

@ Jisi

Missing you on this thread. . .

To everyone

Have a splendid week ahead!!! BTW, is anyone's birthday coming up soon?

Thanks, Aniffy. Kenosky, coming home already? My, my. How time flies!

Please, help me understand this, and someone may go ahead and tell me what I should do. This is my predicament:

I do not have so much money, but I do have a little saved up. Many others have said that I need a lot, to be able to survive in the US. I do not entirely believe them, because I know certain people who went there with little, and they did not die.

Many people say that since school starts on August 4, I should go on working till July and save much more. This, of course, sounds very juicy, but do not forget the type of job I do. I have hated it for a very long time now, and it is only by the grace of God that I have been able to endure it for all this while.

Another thing is this: If I resign now, what will I be doing? You can see that I am confused. I feel grateful of course, but I also am very rattled. What should I do. Yemi walked out on his job without qualms, but his case and mine are two different ones. He had something to fall back on, and then not long after NLNG called him.

I need advice. Lots and lots of it.

I've not been happy lately. Someone has said, 'A philosopher is someone who torments himself too much and dies very sad.' Ashamed as I am to admit it, I think he is right. I permit myself to become a little too sensitive to the world around me.

I probably was happier when I prayed regularly, back then in school. Life did not seem so hard, even if I suffered more economically. And all this is ironic. It's like I'm saying life was easier when it was hard and is harder now it is easier.

I feel somewhat insecure. And for the first time this year I went to church. The same old church, here in Kano. Coincidentally, today was Trinity Sunday. The choir, the mass and everything was all so familiar, and yet all so new. But why did I attend church?

I felt afraid; I felt alone; I felt threatened by life itself. And I needed strength. I really don't want to resign. I may need to save more. But all the motivation to work seems to have left me. And I want to have a safe trip to the US. And for God to cure me of this sense of threat. I went to church for psychological protection.

The same preaching: God is three and God is one. Nothing new there; the same pontification: the Eucharistic feast, where Jesus appears in form of bread and wine. Again nothing new there. The prayers were still as I left them last year. The liturgy intact. I recalled that Jesus had said that the Gates of Hell were not going to successfully overthrow Christianity.

But my concern was more selfish. All I needed was for God to protect me. To protect me from fear. Or have I been alone for too long? I am thinking of asking Chima to come and spend some time with me here.

I am seriously thinking.

The posters are at it again, spewing forth words. AlfaPrime, my dear, do not drink Alabukun for another person's headache.

These days I am exhausted. I am like the proverbial tortoise that spent seven years in the soakaway pit. When it was time for someone to rescue him, he kept shouting: 'Quick, quick, because of the smell!' Since I got my visa, my soul has been restless. I'm anxious to leave. I thought I would go on working till June 23 at least, but now I know I cannot; I will resign next week, after May's pay. Intercontinental usually pays on the 21st or so.

Who was it that joined me in extolling saving? If I did not have a savings culture, how would I be able to pay my flight, and carry a comfy PTA in dollars to the USA, without anyone's help? In Iboland we say, 'Ji ire gi guo eze gi.' Ask Kenosky what this means.

All this talk about Christianity, and the state of my soul bores me. You need to hear Mohammedans speak of the rightness of their religion as well. Indeed, I have read parts of their Book, and there is a lot of truth in it, I should say. If they are right, and we too are right, can't we then say there are at least two right ways, and probably many more? Allow me to be responsible for my spirituality, I beg.

Let each man be humble in what he 'knows' to be true. Jisidaisy, welcome o jare.

I have been tempted to abandon this thread. For one week I steeled myself against it. But this thread is like sex. You abstain from it awhile, and then you do it again. But how do I know? I thought I once declared myself a virgin. Was I lying?

You know, once in a while a man sits on an easy chair and thinks. Then he stretches and yawns. He may be hungry, and so he stands up and goes to the fridge. Inside, there are some eggs. There is also a half-finished loaf of bread. He carries the bread and the eggs to the kitchen, and he sets the kettle to boil.

As he makes himself a meal, he thinks a little about life, and about those who have touched his life in one way or the other. There was that fellow that helped him when he was in financial need. There was also that individual that brought joy to his heart after a period of pain. He thinks how time has made his memory numb to all these people, and he silently prays for all of them.

The kettle begins to whistle, and he sets it down. He fetches a cup; milk, sugar and coffee from the cupboard, and makes himself a cuppa. He slices the bread and places them on a plate he brings out. Then he beats the eggs and whisks. The fry pan is nearby, and he sets it over heat, with a slab of butter in it. Then he pours the beat eggs in.

As the eggs fry, he thinks more about his old friends. It has been very long since when last he set his eyes on them. He would have liked to send that kind fellow a card last Christmas, but it is apparent he did forget. He also would have liked to invite the cheery individual to his last birthday party, but somehow it skipped his mind. He rues his absent-mindedness and hopes he gets over it. It does not do for friends.

The eggs are ready. He takes his meal to the parlor and sets it all down. Then he resolves to send that card afterall. He would send it tomorrow. He would say thank you for the kindness of that good old friend. And he would invite the cheery other to his next birthday. He would not forget; not anymore. He would not pass up any opportunity in future to slow down and think of all the good people he had been lucky to meet.

The meal begins to taste even more delicious, with the newfound peace in his heart, the peace of being at home with oneself, and yet in the loving remembrance of others; the peace of being alone, but not at all lonely.



When I look back at our thread now more than a year old, I recall all our old friends, those lovely people who posted words of hope and encouragement on this thread right from day one. Some are still with us. Kenosky is still here, very dear fellow he is; Opokonwa, Aniffy and I are here too; but there are many others who have retired, albeit too soon: Sweetsjoy, Adrianic, Thought, Sequoia, Jbyno, Okoroboy, and so forth; and we have forgotten them in our hurry to keep up with the pace. I wonder how they are getting on with their lives. A good number of them have busy lives, with demanding bank and other jobs. A few may be trying their hands out at businesses. Certain others may be unemployed. But probably all of them are intelligent, and motivated to succeed. Still, we must think of them, and wish them well. When we direct positive thoughts in people’s direction, it acts like a séance that brings them good luck. We close our eyes and think of them with love. We imagine them succeeding, and we say, ‘May all your dreams come true.’ And we blow into the air, hoping the peaceful mist reaches and blesses them.

Dearest Kenosky, Brother, Friend, Godfather, I ask you to charge the posters on this thread to each remember one or more favorite previous poster(s) (don’t copy another person’s choice-o!), and wish him or her a blessing today. Let me begin:

I remember Adrianic.  He was the first Brother on Which Way Nlng? I met in person. We talked very many times on the phone, and shared many things in common. When I was Godfather, people called him my Defence Minister. And there were many remarkable things he posted on this thread.

Adrian, wherever you are now, and whatever you are doing, I want to send positive thoughts your way. And I want to encourage you to be strong. I blow your way positive mists of economic advancement. God bless you.

Niyoo, in Iboland, when two people have argued back and forth for so long, one of them says, 'Ka m ji ujo kwere,' and he throws his hands up. Ask Kenosky what this means.

aniffy4eva:
Well, yes and no. in the very basic form, a technical investor uses mainly stock prices (past and present) and volumes of the stock that were traded in previous sessions to make investment decisions. Thats the "yes" bit.

As for the "No" bit, if you rely solely on recommendations from your broker, that doesn't make you a technical investor. Recommendations are good as a tool, but not as the ONLY yardstick. Always remember that whatever you do, the broker will always get his commission.

I'm 100% sure you are correct, my dear. I'm a sucker for intelligent people anyday, Yemi. And I'm googling the guy now. Dr. M. Yunus, a nobel peace prize winner, and an economist and banker. Yemi, you must be an avid reader. A hug for you; take it!

aniffy4eva:
Well, Kuwena. . .

Such businesses that are created as a fusion of a profit-oriented company with a not-for-profit company are referred to as Social Businesses. You might want to look at the Grameen-Danone model. Its a partnership between Grameen (Yunus) and the French yogurt making company Danone to provide nutritious yogurt to malnourished children in Bangladesh, and making enough profit to make it self-sustainable, at the very least.

You might also want to pick up his book, "Creating a world without poverty"- he (Yunus) wrote extensively about it.

Although the ownership structure is much different from what you have said, i think you can pick up an idea or two from the book.

Disclosure - i am not Yunus' sales rep oh!. . .

Hmmm. This is good, Yemi. I never even knew such businesses existed! Guy, you're so intelligent. I'll google the author straightaway. Thanks. You can see now why I love you, right?

Niyoo my dear, you asked about GNP. GNP means Gross National Productivity. It simply means the value in dollars of everything produced by citizens of a country who live inside or outside that country.

I mentioned it in  my earlier post because I was asking if it was government that was directly responsible for the produce value of a country to grow, or if they were simply to make sure there was political stability, so that the factors of production (which are what are directly responsible for increase in GNP) could increase the GNP without hitch.

Feel me?  

Am I right to suppose, then, that a technical investor is one who goes by the stock prices and possible recommendations from stock brokers who may not have all the 'fundamental' info?

aniffy4eva:
In simple terms, a fundamental investor is one that analyzes financial statements, examines the health of the company's management, looks at income statements, competitive advantage, competition and macroeconomic conditions before making investment decisions. I hope that answers yoru question. . .

It does; and thank you.

Niyoo, I know that what I am about to do now is foolish. I am about to explain myself to you, even though Robert Greene (author of the 48 Laws of Power) has said that the more we explain ourselves, the more we risk being misunderstood. Pardon this indiscretion.

It is not in your place, Niyoo, to outrightly say that my 'business proposal' is not practicable. You are NOT an authority on businesses. And to listen to you on this issue would be stupid.

For your information, I WILL soon enough float at least one such company, in the United States of America. And it will not be up to eight years from now. I will go ahead and get 100 committed and financially endowed individuals (probably not including you), and we will float this kind of company. And it will be a revolution.

Very many things are possible. There was no aeroplane before the Wright brothers invented one; there was no electricity before Faraday; there was no atomic bomb before Einstein; even when Emeagwali was crafting his supercomputer, many thought he was mad. But he did it, and won the Gordon Bell prize.

There are so many things I have done in private that I am yet to publish. I have not been able to publish them all this while because I live in Nigeria (and you know what Nigeria is). As of today I have five unpublished literary works:

1. Ninety Negro Numbers (a 258-page autobiographical song-book)
2. Membusoje Doherty (another 258-page full-length novel)
3. The African Verses (a collection of 120 poems, not yet typed, but handwritten)
4. A Planner Defiled A People and Two Other Plays (not yet typed, but handwritten)
5. Small Small So Say (a full-length novel not completed)

I have also been working on many hypotheses in communication, mysticism and pseudoscience, such as the Catparian classification, which is the fusion of the Zodiac and the Enneagram to produce 48 personality types. I am also drawing up pseudo-spiritual and pseudo-psychological theories that blend modern witchcraft with astrology, seances and religion. But most of these works cannot bloom here in Nigeria, I think. (I may be wrong).

One project I intend to undertake is to be the first to fuse the usual company with the usual non-profit organization. I came up with the framework while still at Ofada. I said that I would gather 100 individuals. And I will. These individuals would contribute each a fixed amount over a period of one year into a common pool.

Logic of the above: Cults have donations that bind them, usually one another's blood that they drink during meetings. Cult masters collect followers who are willing to donate their 'precious' blood, and drink other people's blood even at the risk of HIV/AIDS. The task for me would be to, through extensive persuasion, comb the USA and look for 100 people who can commit their 'precious' money and form a cult-company.

Of these hundred individuals, twenty would resign their jobs and float the company proper. The rest 80 would still be cult members. Now, in ordinary parlance, they would be called the board of directors (non-executive directors).

Logic of the above: Cults have members with specific portfolios, who have specific roles to perform. These roles justify their existence in the Fraternity. In the case of the Catpar, the cult-company, the purpose is simply not to be a cult, but to facilitate the industrial and psychological transformation of Africa. The Brotherhood, having 'assumed' that it is industries that Africa needs would not be content with only spiritual activities, but with economic ones as well.

Now, the twenty executive directors would divide themselves into four:

a. Outreach
b. Business Development
c. Financial Management
d. Corporate Affairs.

a. Outreach: The individuals in Outreach would be responsible for going 'out there' to scout for creative geniuses. These would be people who can create stuff, but do not have the money or the savvy to turn their bright ideas into businesses. They would be black people primarily, and they would be willing to share their ideas with our Cult-company, so that we can help them. The outreach people would use multi-media approaches to collect these people. They would be social workers, mass communicologists and social psychologists, among others.

b. Business Development: The individuals in Business Development would be responsible for turning the creative ideas proposed by the geniuses into viable businesses. They would serve as representatives with banks that may sometimes be called upon to provide the necessary funding. They would also help the geniuses to plan workable business proposals, and to draw up Memoranda of Understanding and what have you. Individuals here would have studied Business Administration, Economics, Banking and Finance; but they would also have studied Art, Engineering and so forth, as geniuses could come from these areas.

c. Financial Management: The individuals in Financial Management would be responsible for making sure that that initial pool of money that the Cultists (Board of Directors) contributed kept multiplying. They would invest such money in long, short and medium term deals. They would make sure that the asset base of the company kept ever strong, so that the company lived forever.

d. Corporate Affairs: The individuals in Corporate Affairs would be responsible for the day-to-day running of the company: secretaries; clerks; lawyers, human resource persons, and so forth. They would be in charge of business and external relations as well. They would also keep the company's books. The HR people in particular would be in charge of recruiting from outside. They would induct new 'cultists' who have no shares, but who work for the company. Their status in the Cult though would differ.

Now, as a Cult, the Catpar would function as a cult. All the Hundred Brothers would have both financial and moral stakes in it. Financial because they contributed cash to the company charged with the practical aspect of bringing a radical developmental change to Africa, and Moral because they would promise to stick to all the emotional (or psychological, or spiritual, depending on how you view it) ideals of the Cult. They would attend meetings, share things in common; they would love one another as Brothers. They would practice the Spiritual exercises, and learn about the separation, development, integration and transcendence of the human personality, sexuality, spirituality and vocation; they would also learn how to be measures and ends for all humanity. It will NOT be a secret cult. Activities of the Cult will be published in all the media, and the cult would have a regular teevee program: HEALING THE MOTHERLAND. This program would be geared towards using the television to campaign for radical developmental change for Africa. By the by it would even have its own station, like Christ Embassy does. It will be non-religious, and there will be no oaths, or wearing of sacred uniforms. Sacrifices, if any, would be free-willed and entirely psychological, like my Three Sacrifices. There will be NOTHING secret about the Catpar.

As a company, it will be a Public Limited Liability Company, just like others. Name them: Intercontinental, UBA, Globacom, and so forth. As a company, it will be registered with the requisite body in the USA, and incorporated under its laws. As a company, it will be a Corporate entity and contribute to the American economy first, and then to the rest of the world. As a company, it will pay corporate taxes, and publish Financial Statements, showing Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, and Corporate Social Responsibility statistics. As a company, it will pay regular dividends to the Hundred Brothers and to as many as would join later. There will be two or more kinds of membership: Brothers, and Workers. The former would own shares, and the later would simply be employed by the company. It will be a regular company in the sense of all the foregoing.

I fear I have said too much. But I am not just ranting. I intend to do all I have said. And believe me, I will try to the best of my ability. And if it does not work, it will not be because I did not try. But in a corner of my heart, I know somehow that it will work. All it will take is PERSUASION. Lots and lots of it. To get 99 others like me.

1. Yemi, what exactly is 'fundamental investor'?

2. Niyoo, Kwame Nkrumah was a politician. Achebe is a writer. Who would I rather believe on political issues? (recall the error called 'ad verencundiam'?)

3. Stannesi, thumbs up. You be correct guy, anyday.

kenosky:
[size=15pt]aniffy, niyoo and alfaprime- your posts these days are remarkable (no b say them never dey like so since una show for thread o!). Keep up the good work! Pak, wetin man go do na? the military junta in that country knows what evil they are perpertrating- the Ibos have a saying which when transliterated reads _{'the man who kills with the matchete is always uneasy whenever a matchete is brought close to him'}.
Niyoo, actually na u wey stannesi draw (with him post wey end up confusing only himself ).

@all, hav a great weekend![/size]

'Some kinds of communication on some kinds of issues, brought to the attention of some kinds of people in some kinds of situations have some kinds of effects.'

kenosky:
pak, thanx for that reminder- i ope say people go appreciate their country more! @all, thank God its friday- av a great weekend!

Appearance is not always reality. This is a problem of philosophy.

Stannesi, after I have responded to Niyoo, please critique my views, seeing that I have come to respect your mind:

1. Response to Niyoo's first paragraph: I believe it has been said that great minds discuss issues and not persons.

2. Response to Niyoo's second paragraph: Risks are sometimes necessary for growth; but even the mosts needful of risks should be managed. I mean, who enjoys losing?

3. Response to Niyoo's third paragraph: Inflation does not simply eat at the value of saved money. It eats at the value of all money, including that earned via investing.

4. Response to Niyoo's fourth paragraph: Very many people (including the reverred Chinua Achebe) have blamed Africa's regression on leadership. But I beg to ask: Is it the political substructure that is directly responsible for GNP growth, or does it simply povide the enabling environment in which productive economic factors (land, capital, entrepreneurship and labour) thrive in peace, stability and the rule of law and equity?

5. Response to Niyoo's fifth paragraph: The question of poor infrastructure in Nigeria is the proverbial chick-and-egg quandary. Take solar energy for example. Do you sincerely think that if an entrepreneur were to float a company that could make use of solar energy in the generation of electricity possible the government would stop him? If your answer is yes, would it be the fault of government, or pressure from tribalistic and other negative forces displayed by the populations themselves?

6. Response to Niyoo's sixth to ninth paragraphs: Coordination of as many as one hundred financially endowed youths is indeed a novel enterprise. It is probably not the usual company; but if organizations like Rotary International, Junior Chambers International and so on can coordinate thousands of members all over the world (even though they are non-profit), I think a profit-oriented company with committed members is similarly possible.

7. Response to Niyoo's tenth paragraph: Indeed, individuals differ, and have diverse ideas and ideals. This is true. Also, 'opinion is free, even though facts are sacred'.

8. Response to Niyoo's eleventh paragraph: I beg you to note that Kwame Nkrumah did say that Black Africans were poor in mind. He said this in certain inaugural discourses he made as first president of independent Ghana. In fact, he called this poverty of mind the worst bane for Africa. And yes, there are some Black people that are creative, but as you yourself say, they 'sometimes (I dare say more often than not) turn [their] creativity to negative activities'.

Niyoo, you wrote a long discourse. Stannesi, I invite you to critique my dissection of it.

kenosky:
[size=16pt]from the way u sound, i think its best if no one responds to your post any more! u tend to take things too personal! it shouldnt be like that![/size]




[size=18pt]its true what they say 'a man's name will order his footsteps!' crazy color u indeed live up to your crazy name! Must u post? Or havent u heard the saying 'that if u have nothing to say , u should just blow whistle'? [/size]

Monkey no fine, but im mama like am, abi Stannesi?

stannesi:
my ISP wan play me sha, i pass them,

@Keno. nawa ooo, this one wey u just dey stoke me anyhow, wetin i do u

"Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you really think of them."

@Alfa
i no dey talk too much , just my opinion
"A friend in need is a friend to be avoided." soft loan, not a good idea.
as 4 me sha, i will "Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn’t expect to be paid back." ha ha, lol

"Get what you can and keep what you have. That's the way to get rich."

@Kuwena
agree wit u that is its good to save money, because someday it may be valuable again.

u say it like its that easy (talkin abut your 200m industry comp.) lovely imaginatn of urs, but it doesn't work d way it seems. You wan save 2m and find 100 more like u? na yam, 4 naija,

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."
u do d maths, replace "the weather" with "Nigeria".

- off record, just a few observations -
this is Naija, have heard diff. opinion from people of diff ages and background, your far frm it, Naija is f**kin poor. u hav no idea of hw poor i mean, poor in mind, creativity, and very pessimistic, that is why dey don see d opportunity that God put in the country 4 them, dey shut their eyes/minds, very few people thing about d future, and your future is determined by your present. (hate typin, i'll end 4 now)
trust me d "The lack of money is the root of all evil."

@CrazyCol
sorry to say,
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt."
and you're even new to Nairaland, & this just your 1st post, ha, why

The best post I have read in a long while. I agree with everything you have said here. Stannesi, your thoughts echo mine almost perfectly. Well done, bro. All my love. 

Before I sign out, let me respond to what Niyoo said about establishing industries and its being naive and all what not. You see, the reason great nations like the USA, Japan, China and India are where they are today is because their people established many, many industries. You are talking about industries crashing. No doubt about that. But setting up industries is like getting married. In the US, one out of every two marriages breaks up. Does that mean people should all become priests? Come on, man! The attitude should be positive. Who was it that said: Pessimists are more often right, but optimists achieve more? We have to tell ourselves the truth. We need the culture of producerism as opposed to the current culture of consumerism. It will not do when Nigerians are always the first to buy the latest car model on the Net, when none of them has made a wheel, let alone a car. Guy, face facts. We need industries.

And about your saying 2 million naira cannot build a company, recall that I said that the youths who had saved that amount were to come together to do business. If hundred youths each two million naira rich were to get together, the capital they could pool would be 200 million. Feel me? Please read and UNDERSTAND my posts before trying to respond to them, okay?

And this goes for both certain individuals and the rest of you, on this 'noble' thread. 

JISIDAISY:
Kuwena, where in the US will you be?

May I ask why you would like to know?

kenosky:
[size=16pt]niyoo, much as it hurts to admit it- You SPOKE MY MIND EXACTLY for the 1st time. Cant even punch a hole in your argument- so masterfully crafted is it! I find myself doffing my hat! I wont even try to quote your post here- boi! u got mi real good this time!

The only thing i can add is that i don't think kuwena sees his going to the US as a risk- he craves it! I might even be tempted to say he's running away! Of course, its a step he's taking because he believes the US is his own Utopia- an eldorado of sorts!

Kuwena, veiled or direct remarks on individuals would not be entertained on this noble thread! Lets focus on the issue and not the person! I know u can do it!

Jisi, na say u wan follow kuwena go 'obodo oyibo', na im dey heavy for your mouth since? Abi na u go be the first to elope?

aniffy and alfa, if i have to remind u guys to respond to this new topic being discussed- den una go .

I actualy missed stannesi's take yesterday- isnt it funny? to miss kolo toure! [/size]

Opinion is free; it is only facts that are sacred.

opokonwa:
Need I add more?

I lost money but never lost my business sense.
Resolved to make up for it, I went for soft loans, took on higher risks and before one year, I made money.
I had back everything that I earlier lost, acquired more assets and even had some small change to play with.
Today, I take on even higher risks. It is the way for me.

The lesson is that certain individuals cannot understand and grow beyond the risk that they are not willing to take.
We are afterall not made the same way.

My loss sharpened my business sense. It was one of the best business lessons for me.
Not everyone can stomach the nerve though.

Just saving is boring to me.
It's even miserly Goes against my nature.

Niyoo, your take on this subject is perfect. Shows you get business sense.
I used to respect only Aniffy on this subject. Right now you have another admirer.

Certain individuals may have to take classes in financial intelligence.

Money, you must know, is not 'real' in itself. You must get this point clearly. Money is a REPRESENTATION of wealth. We do not seek money for money's sake. Rather, we seek it for what it can bring us: power, comfort, respect and all what not. Please, digest this point. Have you? Good. Now let us proceed with the argument.

To be wealthy, it does not matter how much one earns. What is important is how much one retains. Is this clear? Good. What this means is that even if a person earns a million dollars per second and spends all of it the next second, he has retained nothing. Can we then call him wealthy? But what if someone earns only ten dollars and saves six of it. Can we call him wealthy? Well, at least he has more money than the big earner, doesn't he? So you see, retaining money is more important that earning it. Let us go on with the argument.

Like produces like. Trees produce trees. Humans produce humans, and in the same way, money produces money. So, to become wealthy (to have lots and lots of money), we must retain some, and then use the money we have retained to 'produce' more and more and more money. Do you copy? Good. Now, listen. I am not saying that one cannot borrow to do business or to invest. No. What I am saying is this: DO NOT BORROW, THEN SPEND ON LIABILITIES (THINGS THAT DO NOT PRODUCE MONEY), AND THEN EARN SALARY AND PAY BACK. This is foolish.

How can someone want to buy a car, or any other liability and go borrow. Then when his salary comes, he services the debt he used to purchase that liability. Can you see that this style of earning salary to service debt spent on liability is financially unintelligent? There is only one kind of borrowing that is wise: borrowing to do business, in which case the money made from the business can pay off the loan and leave some money for the person that borrowed. Niyoo, in this regard, we are saying the same thing.

Let me paint a picture. Imagine a boy who wants to sell spare parts. He borrows say, one hundred thousand naira from a friend, then buys spare parts worth that amount. He than sells the parts for one hundred and fifty thousand naira. He takes the hundred thousand with say, ten thousand naira interest (making one hundred and ten thousand naira) and pays the person he borrowed from. Then he keeps forty thousand naira for himself; or better still, he takes thirty thousand from it and invests in say, Intercontinental Bank Plc shares. The remaining ten thousand, he uses five thousand for his daily upkeep, and the remaining five thousand he saves in his call account in case of the proverbial rainy day. So what are his assets after borrowing? Thirty thousand naira invested in shares, and five thousand naira in his call account. You see?

Please, one thing you must note is this: It is not how much you make that matters. It is how much you keep. I repeat: IT IS NOT HOW MUCH YOU MAKE THAT MATTERS. IT IS HOW MUCH YOU KEEP. A word is enough for the wise.

God bless you all.

Niyoo, I did not say save for saving sake. Please get that point very clearly. I said save so that you can invest what you have saved. I repeat: SAVE, SO THAT YOU CAN INVEST WHAT YOU HAVE SAVED. God in heaven knows that that is what I said: SAVE, SO THAT YOU CAN INVEST WHAT YOU HAVE SAVED. Niyoo, can you hear me repeat it? What I said was: SAVE, SO THAT YOU CAN INVEST WHAT YOU HAVE SAVED. Okay?

Lastly, let's wax philosophical a bit:

Take Nigeria as a case study. The unemployment level cumulatively is 80% (60% unemployed; 50% of the rest underemployed).

What this means is that only 20% of Nigerians are suitably employed (the likes of Aniffy, Kenosky, Wandel and all those who can truthfully say: 'I like my job,' and who earn good pay in the process). The rest of us fall into the 80% gap. Believe me, I do too (though thanks to America, I will be liberated on June 23, the day on which I have chosen to resign).

The rate of growth in employable graduates increases in geometric progression, while the rate of job creation increases in arithmetic progression, and the few companies there are are becoming overstaffed. And those who have jobs eternally consider themselves lucky because afterall, others do not have. And they cling on protectively to their jobs. In the enduring vicious cycle. Too many would-have-been business owners bemused and trapped in the employee-mentality craze. This will not do.

Now, what if more of our employed youths become more daring. What if they realize that they can help by thinking beyond their primordiality, their families and the Joneses, and save up, resign their jobs, create new jobs, and let others take their place, and then in turn employ others in their new companies. Sound unreal?

Imagine if one hundred youths resign each year after saving each two million naira, and then come together to set up viable industries, and after ten years, employ each a thousand other graduates. What this means is that every ten years, hundred times ten times one thousand (one million youths at least) will be employed, and another one hundred thousand at least will take over the jobs made vacant by those entrepreneurs.

In another ten years, this number will grow geometrically, leaving at least ten million youths employed, plus one million at least taking over the jobs left over; and in another ten years again, at least one hundred million youths will be employed, with one million taking over the jobs left over, and so on.

This will be the transformation of Africa. Believe me.

For those of you freshly going into the labour market, please do not look on your salary as your lease. Think beyond it. Share the urgency of the soon-to-be-sacked-steward; save! Tell yourself that you will compulsorily save a significant portion of your earnings, regardless of what transpires.

Please and please, SAVE a reasonable portion of your earnings each month, and never touch this portion, even at gun point. Save, Your Excellency; save all the rest of you. And then invest. This is Wealth Acquisition 101.

What I say to one, I say to another: SAVE. It is better to do this while still in paid employment, than to borrow, live a spendthrift existence, service debts and forever keep up with the Joneses, who in any case are now tired.

Certain individuals must also realize that salaries are not to be spent on debt servicing. Salaries are meant to be saved. Let's borrow from the Holy Book of the Christians (the bible). Jesus (Isa eis Salaam) told this parable:

A steward was once denounced to his master as being wasteful with his (the master's) money. Hence the master called the servant and asked him to render an account of his stewardship, as he (the servant) was no longer to be in his (the master's) employment.

The steward said to himself: 'What am I to do now that the master is taking away the stewardship from me? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I am too ashamed. Aha! I know what I must do, so that when my master sacks me I shall not have to suffer.' Straightaway therefore, he summoned his master's debtors to himself and asked one: 'How much do you owe my master?' 'One million dollars.' 'Sit down now,' the steward said to him, 'and write fifty.' To another he said, 'And you sir, how much do you owe?' 'One hundred thousand dollars.' 'Sit down and write eighty.'

If you look at that story well, you can learn something about wealth, and understand why for some people it will be very difficult to be rich, and for others it will be easy.

An individual with an employee mentality will never be rich in the real sense of the word. How? He lives within the confines of 'security'; the security of job and salary, and is always doing all in his power to please the master, and to keep his job. He waits dutifully for the next pay raise, or a better job, or stuff like that: pension, insurance, and what have you. And when it is monthend, he is thinking of his 'responsibilities'; those he must spend on, usually himself and his family; then he also tries to keep up with the Joneses, by satisfying his 'taste' for the fine things of life. This spending behaviour keeps him trapped in what Robert Kiyosaki calls the 'rat race,' and such a person grows perennially indebted to the 'master,' and tied to his job.

On the other hand, the man with the 'business-owner' mentality always looks at his job with the same urgency as the steward told he will be sacked. All the while when at paid employment, he imagines that he will be 'sacked' very very soon. And so he frantically keeps planning what to do when he is 'sacked'. You must not imagine that these individuals are bad employees; on the contrary they are super achievers; but they know that 'you can never be rich while working for someone else'. So they save most of their salary. They do not spend much; not on themselves, and not on family; they also have no time to keep up with the Joneses. Because, as Robert Kiyosaki would say, 'the Joneses are tired'. Instead they stinge and save, and like the Steward, they invest in the master's creditors (that is, they do business). And so they build up their asset column.

And then they resign. And gather OPM and OPT, and set up productive businesses, and become business owners themselves, employing thousands of individuals, and paying them what the 'master' used to pay them long time ago.

Jesus (Isa eis Salaam) said to certain individuals: Let him that has ears hear. I have said my own.