₦airaland Forum

Abeg leave talk for Mathias... back to the koko.

I will be staying in an Airbnb in the meantime and today I had cause to bless the man that founded such a beautiful alternative to hotels.

My host is absolutely an angel. Everything is in place and more, including stocked fridge and kitchen, unlimited internet, and a Christmas gift and card wrapped just for me! Talk about living among sane people.

Guitarlife:
I will make this quick, I have seen people resign a millolion naira per month job and relocate to canada.

I know not less than 5 people earning more than 500k resign and relocate to Canada, you need to understand that its when you are broke money looks like the answer to all problems.

When you have money it dawns on you that money is not the answer to all problems.

So true. The insanity called Lagos cannot be understood until you switch to a saner clime.

Olalekank:
Great bro!
Sorry we have derailed your thread. Enjoy the cold

Interestingly, the cold today was not as bad as anticipated. 7 degrees Celsius. Eventually had to drop my jacket for a lighter one.

abumeinben:
What do I need? How much do I need to have? What's your age range (not personal...range).

The best place to address your questions is the express entry thread.

So why am I relocating? Here are a few thoughts.

1. If you want to be a global citizen, making impact on a global scale and contributing to global conversations, you cannot afford to stick with only your Nigerian passport for now. For example, I was billed to speak at a global conference earlier this year. I couldn't get a visa interview slot one month to the conference... and guess what... I missed the conference. Holding a Canadian PR would have made a world of difference! Again, apply for an American non-immigrant visa from Nigeria and you will be given maximum of 2yrs. Apply from Canada as a Nigerian holding Canadian PR, you get 10yrs. Go figure! Besides, applying today, the earliest US visa appointment date you will get is most likely sometime in May 2019.

2. There is an absolute lack of security and value for human life in Nigeria. People die/are killed as if its a normal phenomenon. From accidents and Danfo without brakes, to robbers, kidnappers, Police & Army shootings, cultists, etc. We end up dissipating so much personal time and resources to combat these issues that we have little to invest in development issues. I would rather live in an environment where my driving a 2018 Lexus SUV does not bother anyone and will not attract undue attention, than do the same in Lagos and live under constant threat of robbers and kidnappers.

3. Business! Am a business-driven person and a stakeholder in the tech scene. If I put a quarter of the effort I put into my businesses in Nigeria into a business in Canada...the net worth by now would be in millions of $$$ at least. Again, the support structure for start-ups is fantastic in Canada. Aside mentoring and other perks, a start-up by a new PR can access up to $50k in credit at discounted interest rates. What support structure do we have in Nigeria?

4. A system that works will always attract the best people, and a system that does not work will chase away experts and desirable capital. Nigeria's system is not only flailing, but is also designed to frustrate innovation and hardwork. Thus, businesses fail, banks crash and millions of people become jobless, yet the Govt carries on like its business as usual. Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world and the Government is still in denial.

5. The forecast for 2019 and the following years is too bleak. For example, the Federal Govt is barely managing to hold exchange rates, but once the elections are done, and whether Buhari wins or lose, the Naira and the economy will take a beating, leading to another round of woes for the populace.

6. Life expectancy - the 2017 life expectancy for Nigeria is 53.6, while it is 82.6 for Canada. This implies that on the average, a child born in Canada will live almost 30yrs longer than one born in Nigeria... and the reasons are obvious; better healthcare, standard of living, etc.

7. I did 5hrs in Lagos traffic 5 days a week. I don't need a doctor to tell me that I was damaging my health. Is there a comprehensive roadmap to address the challenge of Lagos traffic within the next 5-10yrs?

As someone that used to be in the Naija for life brigade, I only needed to travel internationally a few times to realise that what we have in Nigeria is not normal. I will not use my head to break coconut.

bomasek:
I no fit leave 500k job go abroad,to go do wetin?

Many people relocate in other to give their children a better life...for them, its a sacrifice that they have to make. For me, though the move is beneficial to my children, it is first about me, before it is about them, afterall I still have a life to live.

Canada, or any other country for that matter is not necessarily the greener pasture. If you know who you are, the investment you have made in yourself, and the value of what you have, you will know that the greener pasture is first inside you. You can make anywhere green for yourself if you have invested the right stuff in yourself overtime.

TonyeBarcanista:
That kind job dem no de advertise am. Na coded and na man know man

That thing you called man know man, is actually called NETWORKING and is the number one method of recruitment globally. Who is in your network, and how many of them can vouch for you. That person that worked with you when you were a sales person earning 20k...can he/she vouch for your character? How many know you for your diligence and will remember you when they come across an opportunity?

Building a network takes careful deliberate action.

Mizwisdom:
May God bless your hustle in Canada and bless me with N500k job too Oluwa locate me so that I can testify. How do pips get such jobs?

Start small, grow your career, invest in yourself, be good at what you do... and when you have paid your dues, the offers will come rolling.

Mapleking:
Did you get these in lagos? If yes, where and the price range?

For Canadian winter gear, Yaba is the place to go. Budget 3k for the jacket (depending on the quality and your bargaining power) and anything from 6k for good shoes.

davodyguy:
Cos, its one of the cheapest African airlines on intercontinental route. The cheapest is between SAA and ET. Some routes are cheaper on ET, others are on SAA. Hence, expect Nigerians to pack themselves full on the Lagos outbound flight to Addis Ababa

Valid point

CaptainGOOD:
You left 500k paying job?

Yes Sir... actually, a bit more than N500k Naira monthly. You get to a point in your life where you find out that money is not a good motivator, particularly because you will always want more of it. So you don't make life-impacting decisions on the basis of money alone.

Besides, N500k monthly is not so much money. It is less than $2k CAD... a dishwasher on minimum wage makes more than that in Toronto.

Toronto!! Tiring flight... Let me clear immigration first... Gist later

Earlier today from the skies... God is great

Boarding the flight for Toronto now... will answer questions when we land

View of Addis Ababa from the skies. You do not want to see what Lagos looks like at night from the air.

Landed at Addis Ababa... and boarding the flight for Toronto shortly

People dey travel sha! Full flight to Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airways

Its winter season in Canada right now... so here are a few of my anti-winter gear

And yes! The toilets at the airport are clean! The departure side though; after you have cleared customs and immigration. Did not check the other side.

No tissue or towels sha... but still I will give a pass mark!

MMIA has improved a lot! And all those stories of bribery/extortion by airport officials are exaggerated. Lots of Happy Christmas from expectant officials of course, but just keep a smiling but puzzled look (like ayam not understanding what you mean ) and you will pass. The thing is that they cannot openly demand for a bribe, so yours is ensure you do not unnecessarily cower.

The things I will miss... FAMILY!!! Leaving family is hard! Lots of free-flowing tears... but this is a sacrifice that must be made. Goals in view.

Then I will miss the CHAOS of Nigeria. Roadside and traffic merchants... the number 3 enemy of ecommerce in Nigeria (discuss for another day) Iya Basira abi Calabar Kitchen. Happy to miss Danfo, Okada and Lagos traffic! Will not miss my job at all! Resigned from a job that pays over N500k monthly...abeg I no do again

So I finally decided to activate my Canadian Permanent Residency and move to Canada. I will be sharing my journey here, particularly how I find the transition and settle. Some key points to note:

1. No personal questions please. I will try to answer as many questions as I can

2. You are required to have a specific sum (POF) (depending on your family size) to migrate to Canada under the Express Entry programme. However, I am not willing to spend my precious savings, so I will be limiting my drawing from my savings to $2,000 CAD, aside ticket costs and the one week Airbnb stay I have already paid for. All other expenses will be from money earned in Canada... so lets see how that goes.

3. I believe in the dignity of labour, so watch out for the legal stuff I will do to make an enjoyable living.

A close associate and his Team are visiting South Africa this August and short of 2 people to make a complete team. As a member of their Team, you will be covered by their financial details and invitation letter. The following are the conditions you need to meet:

1. You have an international passport already
2. You are willing and able to travel by the first week of August
3. N135k for visa and other sundry fees
4. Budget N10k - N15k for accommodation per day or make your own alternative accommodation arrangements
5. Have enough funds for your flight ticket

If interested, you can contact them on
EMAIL – jessnigeria @ gmail.com
WHATSAPP - 0 8 1 8 1 0 1 1 2 0 8

Odionastron:
Help.. i contacted this guy. He has run away with my money. After transferring money to pay for dropship package he has blocked me on Whatsapp and he is not picking my calls.
Please who knows this guy? His bank name is Ezra Vandi.0236712627 Wema Bank.

Sorry bout your loss.

I can help you get Alidropship plugin for N15k. Let me know if that works for you.

Fantastic opportunity for existing and new ecommerce vendors. Register on www.CartNG.com and start selling!

Wow! Saw this thread this morning for the first time and I have read every page.


True entrepreneurship in Nigeria is a battle and am glad that you gave it and are still giving it your best shot in your own way.

I have been down a similar path too... leaving a well paying job to grow a business that had hitherto been a thriving sidekick... then Buhari's economy happened and it all became overly challenging. Had to make a detour back to paid employment... very difficult decision that in time proved to be sound.

Am back to the startup track (while keeping the paid employment) and currently at the stage where we have to drive conversion. It's still not an easy road... because the word easy doesn't exist in a startup's dictionary. But its easier having a financial buffer just like you said. There is a lot of interest in funding tech startups but most of them translate to air bubbles when the push comes to shove.

Keep pushing because today is difficult, tomorrow is more difficult, but next tomorrow is beautiful; but most people will die tomorrow night - Jack Ma

1k001:
2017 was the year from hell. Who dash us 3x 2016 revenue. Everyone we called to didn't have money. Country was dry. We didn't even make up to our 2016 revenue. I'm not one to blame external forces for anything but this recession was special. We sell to businesses and they didn't have money and if they did, they were not willing to spend on software.

It didn't help that we had to hire a new biz dev/ sales guy. It took him 3 months to learn the ropes. It also didn't help that I diluted his focus by getting him to help build other product features. He lasted about 6 months before he left. So we spent the rest of the year without a real salesperson. Our old reliable guy came back on board part-time and we immediately saw the impact. It wasn't enough, however, to get us to our revenue goals.

On a personal level, I was much less focused on the startup. As money dried up and the right investors weren't coming up, I decided to seek a position to keep body and soul intact. Madam and pikins dem must chop. (Got 2 kids by the way if you didn't know) So I called up my old boss in a European country I lived in in the past and he offered me a position. So as I dey now, na cold winter air dey blow me. I'm still fully committed to the startup though, just not totally focused on it as before. I frequent Nigeria and as we are mostly cloud-based, I monitor everything remotely.

Since diluting my attention, the question of focus has been at the fore of my mind. I certainly can't fault its benefits and would highly recommend it. I was of course only able to make significant progress after I quit my job and returned to Nigeria to chase the startup work full time. The challenge though with foucs on startup work like is that it's a luxury. In fact, if we're being honest, being any kind of a tech entrepreneur across the world is largely a luxury. Hungry or low-income people can't dare try it, or at least can't for long. All the successful tech founders you see are from well-off families and would walk into high paying jobs if their startups ever fail. Even the high school dropouts like Zuckerberg and Gates are all from well off families. Not to mention the safety net of social security/ welfare that many countries offer. Going hungry was never an option for them regardless of how badly their business did.

So focus if you can afford it but if you can't, get a job or predictable business to keep body and soul together. Use your spare time to chase your passion. When the time is right you can make the leap across. Don't be afraid to make the leap back if the money equation stops balancing. There's no rule that says you must do it one way all the way. You're not the messiah, you can take a break and return rejuvenated. You can bootstrap a startup for 10 years only to make it big in the 11th year. If you quit at year 9, you miss out on your big year 11 break. The mailchimp story is a big inspiration of mine in this regard.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/technology/mailchimp-and-the-un-silicon-valley-way-to-make-it-as-a-start-up.html

My big lesson for 2017 is that it's ok to beat a retreat to plan a better path to victory. Watch out for more updates. Continue to like to give me the required ginger

More or Less what happened from all the available facts:

Madam enters the car and the guy asks... Where are you going

Madam says drive... I will tell you

Guy says I can't move an inch if I don't know where you are going, if not, come down

Madam says I won't tell you and I won't come down

Guy says come down... Come down

Madam just relax dey chill... Until I get another taxi and the person arrives, I won't come down

Guy says you won't come down abi? He starts the car and starts driving home

Madam starts filming.

Guy gets to the gate and steps out to open it

Madam seizes car keys and still refuses to come down.

Guy is confused. Which kain wahala be dis?

Give me my keys and come down or I drag you out... Guy threatens

Madam says you can't do nothing. If you touch me I will deal with you

Guy starts dragging with her for the keys and collects it and grabs her to drag her out of the car

Madam reaches for pepper spray and unleashes her weapon while screaming... Then runs away

Madam is not satisfied with that and wants to deal with the guy more

Madam goes online to label him rapist and kidnapper

The authorities including Taxify move against the poor guy

Madam wins... But should she?

BruncleZuma:
My friend you should be mature enough to see the obvious mischief is most of their behaviour... acknowledging you did IVF is nothing to be ashamed of.

There is no mischief anywhere. It's their money, their life, their testimony. Do you know what the success rate for IVF is? Do you know how much holding on to Who they believe in helps them get through the process? Do you even know how traumatic the whole process is? If you knew, you wouldn't bug anyone for giving thanks.

BruncleZuma:


And some people wee come and shout praise the Lord for the quadruplets after 30years of trying.

If you have never been in the position of couples that need these services, you have no right to mock their decisions. Don't be childish.

mamatwiny:
She just stated her observation. She is not the first woman I have heard complain of such. As everybody is shouting medical arts and Nordica. If someone saves so much money for ivf and pays at these much talked abt facilities, doesn't get results and is not followed up..... The experience will be overrated - QED.

It is not a must one is successful, but what happens after dt is important.

You should satisfy your customer, first time and always. 90% of dissatisfied customer will go and never return, so try and make every customer experience count. Not every customer has the patience to report to Mgt. I only report to Mgt if I have interest in the business (have friends or relative in the business.)

I agree that many of the staff in these facilities need to be more empathetic. I know someone that went to one of the facilities rated tops here... After a comprehensive test, The MD told her and her husband very bluntly... Madam, you can never get pregnant naturally. The state of your eggs are like those of a 60yr old woman. That boosting the eggs won't work. That the only option is egg donation. This is a lady in her mid thirties. The couple left in a daze. There was no followup subsequently to ever find out if they will be continuing with the process or anything. No thought as to how the news could have been better delivered. Today, the same lady is pregnant... Naturally.

You can register as a seller on CartNG.com