Wow, we should go ahead and run Nigeria - we have enough brain power here to do it. I fully understand what this thread is asking but you cannot do the thread justice without touching on a lot of the points neticash made. There is no need to keep recycling the old political heads who have grown up to believe that the only way to make a living is to get kick backs and embezzle public funds - to hell with the future of our youth, as long as they can send their kids to study in those countries where they have stashed away our money.

Ok, enough of that. Here is an area nobody seems to think about - Private security -for banks, schools, residential areas, hospitals, roads, neighborhoods, private businesses, etc. I am not talking about the hungry-looking souls you see at fast food joints that hold the door open for you to get in. Look at how much business Black Water Security is doing in Iraq. When it comes to Naija, we need serious outfits like that with the training, discipline and fire power to combat the armed robbers that operate brazenly in day light. Without security foreign direct investment will suffer. Even if you build the best business and you cannot move around Nigeria safely, then what good is it. Banks are robbed almost on a monthly basis and some of these banks have not thought about investing in trained private security forces.

Without security great minds will be lost to the hands of hoodlums. Without security one cannot even enjoy the fruits of their labor. Try changing your ride to something too sharp and see if you will be comfortable driving at all hours of the night. Security is a good investment. It will protect the most precious thing we have, which is life, and create a lot of jobs for the masses. The government can offer incentives to individuals that want to open trained private security forces by guaranteeing loans needed to set up these types of outfits.

Steve.

Latest verifiable data says 8 million. Your number is not too far off.

You can see it for yourself here:

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm#africa

My brothers and sisters there are so many factors that impact the level of a country's internet development. The truth is we are still lagging behind countries like India when it comes to our level of internet development. Let me quickly touch on those factors:

1. Power supply - When you have erratic power supply, how on earth can you put in the time to develop solutions or even spend the time that is needed online to master the necessary skills one needs to develop world-class products and services.
2. 419 - This thing has killed us when it comes to doing business online. We don't even trust doing business with each other. There are so many times a few people on this forum have made genuine offers to their fellow Nigerians, but some how because of the fear we have that something might be a scam, we simply do not support it.
3. Our leaders are not internet savvy at all and have no idea that the biggest resource we have is not oil, but what is between our ears - our brains. And the internet can help anyone with a good service or product market their creations online - worldwide. That is why Youtube and Facebook are worth much more than companies like Nitel that employs thousands of people.
4. Lack of government support - If the government does not spend money in the area of IT education, it will take our people forever to catch up with the rest of the world.
5. Low internet penetration. When we get to the point where 50% of cell phones subscribers becoming internet service subscribers, the size of the Nigerian internet market will increase and so will the number of internet entrepreneurs.
6. Few people own a PCs or Laptops. Few computer users equates to few internet users etc.
7. Few Nigerians know how to type - How many people in Nigeria really know how to type - how to use a simple keyboard without doing the one finger deal
8. Inadequate cyber crime fighting tools - With the EFCC chasing out young people out of cyber cafes thinking that everybody who browses the internet at night must be a yahoo boy, then it shows that even the government does not understand this medium and is not properly equipped to police the internet.
9. Most business owners are traders - Buy and Sell - That seems to be the only language most Nigerians understand. When I start talking to people about doing something online, they just tell you that they are not down with that internet stuff. They don't understand it. And I am talking about people with University degrees. So you can imagine what the rest of the population thinks of the internet.

Anyway, I will stop here - I need to attend to my kid. God bless Nigeria. One day we will get there - when our leaders stop selfishly sharing our national cake amongst themselves and start using our resources to develop the infrastructure the country needs to be on par with the rest of the civilized world.
If the Nigerian government can get two things right - Power supply and Telecommunications - Nigerians will do the rest. Man, I really weep for my country.

I don't know who the first internet entrepreneur is in Nigeria, but perhaps the question should be "Are there Nigerians online who are making millions (in USD) not Naira?", and the answer is an unequivocal YES. Here is proof of a company owned by a Nigerian (30 something year-old Nigerian) and I know their family well: Read it for yourself:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2006/september/165976.html

An idle mind is the devil's workshop. When a young man or woman wastes years trying to see if they will catch a mugu, they do not realize that they could have spent that time learning a skill that they can use to feed themselves and their family. 419 does not give our youth the opportunity to learn how to fish for themselves. If they get paid from the endeavor, they buy flashy cars, live in expensive rented homes and in no time they are out begging their friends for money to put fuel in their hummer. It's a game where the fraudster ultimately becomes the mugu.

It cracks me up when some people say, only greedy people fall for 419 scams, and some how try to make it seem as though it is the fault of the foreigner for losing their life's savings. The truth is two wrongs never make a right. What we should all be working for is a Nigeria that has a good image, where people can have the trust and confidence to want to invest on our country. When we gain the trust of outsiders and they invest in our economy, will everybody not ultimately benefit when jobs are created?

When you look at the problem again you see that it did not just germinate overnight. It goes back to how our society has become tolerant of criminals who claim to be our leaders. I mean some of these fraudsters are simply emulating what our culture celebrates - make millions and do whatever it takes to make it - even if it means killing an innocent person and snatching a body part and selling it in the black market. 419 is only an outward manifestation of the ills of our society. Political office holders steal OUR money and we sit around watch them try to manipulate the judicial system into giving them a free get out of jail ticket.

419 is not perpetrated only when a poor church rat in Nigeria writes a scam email with the intention of defrauding someone they have never met. 419 is all around us, and comes in different formats. How about the renovation of the speaker's official residence? Is that not 419. 419, 419, we should all be tired of it and simply have zero tolerance for it.

It is my prayer that one day our leaders will start using all the resources that God has blessed us with to build the kind of country where our youth are not trying to break out of Nigeria to travel to foreign lands where they end up as second class citizens. A Nigeria that will hold a prominent place in the comity of nations. A Nigeria that will be the center of commerce and industry in the world. A Nigeria where holders of it's Green passport will no longer have to hold their heads down when they fly through foreign airports. A Nigeria where there is running water, constant electricity, good roads, great schools and well-equipped hospitals. 419, 419. If we keep tolerating its various formats, we will keep suffering its consequences, and we will all ultimately become the mugu. I have said my piece.

I wish you all love, peace, and happiness.

Peace.

I posed this question in the education section of the forum, and have not yet gotten a response. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-81606.0.html

Steve.

I posed this question in the education section of the forum, and have not yet gotten a response. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-81606.0.html

Steve.

Is anybody out there? Your sincere comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Steve.

Nigerian students can now get their JAMB results online. What other services do you think Nigerian students will pay for online?

Ladies and gentlemen what is the greatest need in Nigeria today in terms of products and services that could be provided online. Are Nigerians ready to start using online services - whether it is for buying goods and services or advertising their wares. I find it very difficult to really figure out what Nigerians will accept as a legitimate online business since it appears most are very skeptical of online businesses.

Are there certain kinds of goods and services that you think Nigerians will be more prone to purchase online? If so, what would they be? And if one wants to start one, how does one assure Nigerians that they can trust that you will deliver on your promise. Your sincere, and well-thought out answers will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Steve

Here is a quote from Wikipedia.org that further buttresses my point:

"A widely quoted definition by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development states that "Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large." (CSR: Meeting Changing Expectations, 1999). This holistic approach to business regards organizations as (for example) being full partners in their communities, rather than seeing them more narrowly as being primarily in business to make profits and serve the needs of their shareholders." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility

This quote is taken from the last paragraph of that writeup - in the section titled: Development and analysis.

Diverse view points are precisely what makes a forum great. We do not all have to see issues the same way. I still love my brothers and sisters who have other points of view, and I will not have it any other way. God bless.

Wow! It is amazing to me that some of us do not understand how society as a whole benefits from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporations in developed countries set aside a percentage of their revenues for activities that will benefit members of the society they depend on to make their profits. Why will someone say that it is a waste of a company's resources to set up a scholarship fund that will benefit students that cannot afford to pay their way through university? Will those same students not graduate and become productive members of society? Is it possible that when those students graduate that they will become the human capital that these same companies will need to continue to grow into the future?

Is it possible that if students get scholarships from corporations that they will drastically reduce their chances of resorting to armed robbery, thereby making our society a safer place to live and work? Is it possible that the student whose education is sponsored by a corporation could become the scientist that discovers the cure to the common diseases that kill our loved ones?

How can you not see that CSR is an investment in the future of Nigeria? If you use this same logic you will see that if corporations have profit-making as their sole objective we will be creating a society without a conscience and the same ills that we are fighting to eradicate will continue to plague us. Selfishness and myopia are the reasons we are mired in corruption. I strongly support CSR and believe that our corporations are not doing enough. Was it not president Kennedy that said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". This is the reason why the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is the number one country in the world today. American corporations participate seriously in CSR, and their government gives them a tax break as a result. They go out of their way to encourage it, because it is a good thing.

The proof of whether it works or not can be seen in how the CEOs of the top American companies always get their companies to give back to the top universities they attended. As a result of their giving, these universities have become bastions of knowledge that has served mankind and especially the developed countries - where the application of knowledge is practiced. CSR works and if you can't see that it is an investment in our collective future, then you are not among the few we need to build a new Nigeria where opportunities abound - a Nigeria where the youth do not have to run to foreign countries because they cannot find jobs in theirs - a Nigeria where politicians do not have to fly to foreign countries to get a physical check up because they failed to give corporations enough incentives to invest in good health facilities. Ladies and gentlemen. I can go on and on, but I will stop here for now. May God help us find wise men and women to lead us out of the darkness of corporate social irresponsibility.

Serious minded forum members only

What payment method is best if your online business targets Nigerians?
How many people in Nigeria will have access to this payment method?
What type of service or information are Nigerians willing to pay for?
What is the market size for such information or service?

Thank you.

Steve

Kaecy5,

Some of your comments just don't seem to proffer any real solutions. How can you possibly say that we are trying to kill the talents of our young people. It does not take any talent to lie or dupe people on the internet, does it? So please spare us the same old backward thinking that has kept our great country mired in corruption. We want fresh ideas and using the example of hackers in developed countries who later become computer security consultants does not make 419 right by any means. Two wrongs never make a right.

We want our young people who are very smart to apply their smarts in positive things that will feed them and their families for generations. If we allow them to keep engaging in cybercrime, we will be doing them a great injustice and quite frankly preparing them for years in jail in the long run. If we don't channel their energies into productive projects (those things that will teach them skills, educate them) that will add value to Nigeria. I am quite sure that we have future lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists wasting away among the so called yahoo boys. What good will they be in the long run to themselves and to society if we keep encouraging them (no matter how tough things are at home) to swindle people online.

So please, leave that old way of thinking (you are more intelligent than that) and bring fresh ideas to the discussion - Ideas that will give us a solution to the banning of Night browsing or help us eradicate 419. We want a new Nigeria, and we want people that will contribute positively to it.

And please don't think I am directing my comments only to you, or that I am angry (no way bro). I am sure if we were at a Suya Joint I will buy you a beer and still tell you how I feel. Nothing personal. Thank you.

The closure of cybercafes just is not the answer to this problem. We have put the burden of fighting 419 on cybercafe owners when we all know that the problem is much bigger than that. Sure the EFCC is working hard to clean up our image and fight all kinds of crime, but they have to find smarter ways to deal with cybercrime. Sure, if a cybercafe owner openly encourages the use of his or her cybercafe for nefarious activities, then I wholeheartedly support the closure of such a cybercafe.

Now let me propose something here. After requiring that all cybercafes register with the EFCC, the EFCC should install software programs that can monitor the activities of computers in cybercafes. Programs could be written that detect sentence patterns that are similar to the ones written by 419ers. And the EFCC should hire tech guys and girls who can monitor cybercafes and certainly the same software could be used by cybercafe owners to monitor their computers and simply lock or cancel accounts/ user IDs that are being used in sending fraudulent letters. These user IDs should be unique to each cybercafe user. That way a fraudster does not have multiple USER IDs for multiple cybercafes. So if you register at a cybercafe with a particular user id, that user id should follow you no matter where you go.

And the USER ID should be tied to the user's photo id that is stored at the cybercafe as well as at EFCC's Cybercafe central database. So if a user get online and is uses any registered cybercafer computer, they can be located because they EFCC can now tell precisely the location of the cybercafe and the precise computer they are using to engage in 419 etc.

At the very least, a monitoring system created by the EFCC will creat jobs for a lot of young Nigerians. The EFCC can solve a lot of cybercrimes if they they work with cybercrime fighters in more developed countries to design the best cybercrime fighting system for Nigeria. So in conclusion, I say, close cybercafes that openly let 419ers or encourgage 419ers to use their business to commit crime. But they should go a step further to put the necessary technical checks and balances in place to effectively deal with this scourge, instead of taking actions that end up becoming mere bandages that will not cure the disease. Just my thoughts.

Olukab1,

Public awareness of online business is directly related to internet penetration in Nigeria. How many Nigerians have access to the internet the way they have access to mobile phones. When Nigeria gets to the point where they can now access the net via their TV cable service or via wireless broadband internet services at affordable prices then you will see a lot of businesses that will pop up to offer their goods and services online. When our Ministry of Science and Technology really gets serious and starts looking at ways to bring internet access to the common citizen's home at an affordable price, then you will see a proportional increase in the awareness of online businesses.

In the mean time, writers, newspaper reporters who write about developments in technology should expand the scope of their reporting/writing to include developments in online business both in Nigeria and abroad. A good story could be the sale of Nitel for $500 mil - a price that is much lower than what Newscorp (US-based media company) paid for Myspace.com ($580 million). Myspace is an online business developed by a two young men out of California. Facebook is another one - a young 21 year American developed that and they seem to be holding out for anyone who will offer them close to $2 billion. On a much smaller scale - they should write about the story of the young Nigerian in New York, Echeruo, whose online business is poised to do about $4million in business this year.

And I am sure there are so many others we don't even read about who are silently making a killing legitimately online. When we tell their stories, then may be some of the decision makers in government will see that if they build the necessary internet infrastructure, Nigerians will find out about the tremendous opportunity the internet holds. Let's keep telling the success stories and with time, other Nigerians will find out that you can make far more online by offering goods and services instead of scams. We still have a long way to go, but Rome was not built in a day. Keep hope alive.

Seun,

The ban on night browsing will not expunge frausters from cybercafes, and you don't have to be a cybercafe owner to know that EFCC's ban on night browsing is not the best solution. Go to Accra Ghana and you will see a cybercafe there called Busy internet that is open 24/7 - for the convenience of those that are unable to use the internet from their office or simply because they just can't afford to take the time out during the day to search the internet for information they need. What if someone is taking online classes after work. How does EFCC's ban on night browsing accomodate that person. If you travel to Nigeria for business and need to get in touch with your home office - say in the U.S. by IM and you want to do it in the early hours of the morning when your office opens - you just will not be able to do so.

Is this the kind of action progressive countries take when they want to solve cybercrime? Of course not. Like someone said on this forum, sure the EFCC's objective is a noble one, and I support them in their effort to fight cybercrime, but it seems they need to take a technological approach. An approach that does not punish the small cybercafe owner who is barely eking out a living.

If any of you have watched some documentaries on CBS or ABC television about how the chats of child molesters are being monitored online by both police and non-profit organizations you will see that there is a way to solve this problem. Has the EFCC thought about setting some of these 419 people up? They can respond to some of these letters, play the role of the victim and set them up to where they can arrest these 419 folks in large numbers.

Don't punish small businesses who do not have the tools to properly monitor the people using their computers for who knows what. What about the privacy factor. If I am in Nigeria and I want to check by bank account in the U.S. or do a transfer and I choose to use a cybercafe to do it at night - do I want a cybercafe owner hanging around me to see what I am doing?

The EFCC should consult those that fight cybercrimes in the U.S. and the U.K to find out how to best tackle this problem. If you keep the fraudster out of the cybercafe at night, he or she will find a way to still commit the same crime at night or better yet, get internet service at his home or place of business (the one he uses as a front) and still carry on with his 419 . Don't through the baby out with the bath water. Nigerian cybercrime fighters need to find smarter ways to fight crime instead of instituting laws that punish the innocent. Just my own two cents.