₦airaland Forum

I concur with the girl in yellow

See baty

400,000 new jobs? I think he meant to say 400 at most.

But anyway cool development. Hope the pencils will be made from Nigerian wood and lead (no imported). It's going to be really hard to make a profit because pencil is a low margin high volume business, the kind that cheap energy and low-interest loans makes possible...

And please please make the pencils straight... It's hard to find anything wood in nigeria that is not wavy or bent

Op, you said there were more pictures on the link, I clicked it, but all I saw was the same picture and ads. But why na?

Whoa-hah! Looks like a stuffed animal sha

But Yemi Yemi Yemi... if I catch you... if I catch you... mmnhh ... u know the rest. Fine girl

The shortbread rectangle and round biscuit. Loved those. They should bring that back

Sitting in front of tv at 3:50 getting ready to watch Voltron! Papa has opened the tv cabinet!

Rewind with Biro. I used to splice tape together with cellophane eh

That clay pot thermocouple was the ish. Water was always cool no matter how hot outside. See energy-saving technology of the day.

How can I forget the lovely fumes of camphor and old lace when mama opened up the metal trunk? Chai

mradjoy:
Don't we have equally good private universities here, if the so called Gov't owned aren't good enough? I bet you some private universities here in Nigeria are far better than those universities there in Ghana and are even more cheaper than their Ghanaian counterpart.

Yes we have them, and they are full.

Nice analysis, OP, and I see sound reasoning in your argument, but we've seen this movie before, in 1983-1984 and we remember how it played out. I think you've also conflated the 250 (parallel) and 197 (official) exchange rates, which dents your argument.

Instead of directly stimulating our economy and enacting policies that would ensure that nobody wants to study abroad, govt is instead punishing those who choose to.

Parents who send their children to Ghana Turkey UK, etc are not stupid: our educational system is crap and the only way for their children to be competitive is for them to use their hard earned naira to train their children. The fact that these children return home and get all the good jobs is testament that our educational sector does not really train anyone.

Would you rather have ill-trained graduates - in our banks, at our phone companies, building our bridges, writing our software, working our hospitals - or people who have had the fortune to get better trained?

You say nothing in and so much out. Have you considered the longer term economic impact of a well trained graduate who comes back to Nigeria?

Instead of gradually improving the educational sector over 4-8 years with real long term thinking, we have a sudden ban that doesn't address the real issue. Of course, if government tries to raise tuition in order to improve standards, students riot, but that's another story. Here's a tip: don't double tuition on everybody overnight, just raise it 10-20% per year for new students only.

Now about traveling, again why don't we have a sustained long term policy that makes Nigeria a competitive travel destination?

Same thing goes for business:
- solve the power issue
- make sure entrepreneurs get low interest rates and long terms for manufacturing
- properly use our agencies to regulate producers of substandard goods (like what Nafdac does for food)
- media campaign to raise awareness for us to support Proudly-Made-in-Nigeria. I would happily put this on my products
- raise tariffs on imported finished goods
- invest in mining other minerals
- improve and diversify our seaports so that getting equipment is easier
- sincerely encourage small cottage industries (bring back FEAP)

I understand that "defending the naira" prevents a much worse scenario from playing out (e.g. we get to a point where we have no foreign exchange to buy essentials or service debt).

However, the short term draconian shutting off will send the economy into a downward spiral since people can't spend their money, businesses and banks will get more tight fisted, which means less hiring, which means less money, and so on. It's not rocket science, and it's not mere speculation: we've actually been through this scenario before and it took us 25 years to recover.

Government should not forget to attend to long term measures that fix our overdependence on imports. In fact, do only two things: solve power, low interest loans (strictly to buy equipment and build factories), and the rest will follow.

Always nice to read these annual summaries/recaps. More grease to your elbow!

Silly tiger... there are some of us in Naija who didn't see goat to eat for Christmas, so could you send your unused goat to us? We will take very good care of it

Well, President Buhari did not make any false claims. These statements are true, no matter how anybody else wants to dress it up:

“..funds that were penciled down for arms procurement were diverted and shared by government officials who served the last administration. - VERY TRUE

“The government at that time sent the soldiers to the battlefield without arms and ammunition to prosecute the war. That was what led some of them to mutiny. They were arrested and detained because of this.” - ALSO VERY TRUE

No matter what APC, PDP, US, etc did, the fact remains that our bravest were sent to die without arms. RIP to our true fallen heroes, the brave soldiers who have lost their lives in defense of this country.

But dis Oba, always blaming one party or the other. As Oba, doesn't he have a role to play in diffusing the situation and calling local rulers to order?

But, that's none of my business... before I get thrown into the lagoon

Pain:
This is the kind of public embarrassment you get when you publicize everything about yourself. It really tells a lot about the depth of many celebrities both home and abroad. People with the real McCoy don't make noise. How many times have you seen the likes of Mark Zuckerbag, Larry Page or Bill Gates post Shitbag purchases like these air heads we call celebrities?

The fact is that most of these cars are refurbished but high grade tokunbos . They go for very fair rates based on the condition of "No testing". Some are due to factory defects or pawned by people who have encountered sudden financial mishap or even credit recovery by banks

That's how the world rolls..

Abeg collect origin and talk sense to these people

"Jealousy is the root of hatred". Kai some people eh.

1. The car is on jack, looks like they're changing a tire.

2. Are they looking at engine? Breakdown is engine stuff to me. This does not look like breakdown

3. It's obviously in a compound, not a highway, so it's not like it was on the road and suddenly developed issue.

But you bloggers sha...

No matter, it's a fine car am I hope the Lord will bless me with one someday.

Beta pikin. Lol Ghana-must-go Santa bag

obasiken:
All they needed was land.

The governor asked us how long before ROI (return on investmvent). We told him 6 years cos palm tree takes time to grow. The governor told us he cannot be investing for his successor to come and reap.

obasiken@yahoo.com

so short sighted... I wonder how many projects get killed due to this thinking...

Johnrake69:
Very funny indeed... Whats the proportion of well-to-do Nigerians to those homeless Nigerians?

Have you seen all the new construction, cars mobile phones, hotels, electronic gadgets all over Nigeria. That's not being done by homeless people who subsist on $2 a day.

Uten9z:
so this secondary sch. student they fit work as bankers etc after graduating no wander Bill gate got it all when he drop out of sch.

It's these secondary school students that go on to University and rub shoulders with the children of elites in the UK and US. When these folks graduate and go to work, start business, or explore opportunities, it's these networks that they tap. It is a sad fact that poor people in UK, US, or Nigeria don't have the connections to do the things that employ thousands of people. If you wanted to tap a network of investors for equity or loan, guess which Rolodex you're going to use?

Bill Gates is ONE kid that dropped out of college. There are millions of wealthy American elites/business leaders who did not drop out. The focus on Bill Gates is like saying "since one person won the lottery, you too don't have to study hard, or work or start a business. Just relax, and you too can win the lottery". Obviously not very useful advice, so why keep trotting it out?

Bill was able to assemble investment money, business contacts, legal advice, technical assistance, sales channels etc from people who didn't drop out. Even Bill went to expensive/privileged primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions.

If not for the fact that he had access to a computer in primary school (you had to be extremely privileged to see and use a computer in early 1970s), his fortunes might have been quite different.

donvicky2007:
How many times have you see kids from all this super rich high school represent Nigeria in any international competition or won any National competition in Nigeria.

Most High that represent Nigeria in any international competition or won National competitions are schools with low school fees.

Is good to spend on child's education but excessive spending is bad.

Yes, but it's these rich kids that end up being the countries top bankers, stockbrokers, engineers, etc. They are also a great asset to Nigeria because of their connections to their peers abroad, bringing money, mindshare, skills, and techniques to Nigeria. You think international investors look at nigeria because of the poor people? No, it's because they met several cool Nigerians in their circles abroad that they even know what Nigeria is. There are millions of hardworking studious children who have become Nigeria's greatest ambassadors.

Johnrake69:
Am astonished.... In the midst of so much poverty. Well... GEJ and Mama peace didn't attend any. so?

It's funny we keep saying "in the midst of so much poverty..." I think we should start seeing the other side: "there are plenty of well-to-do Nigerians".

Surely not everybody who attends this school is using stolen money. Many of these parents (and I'm sure we all know someone whose child attends these schools) are hardworking honest people who simply want the best for their kids.

This really just confirms that there is so much money in Nigeria, and I have to find a good way to make some, while providing opportunities for Nigerian youths. God bless my hustle

Seriously longthroating this house. Everything on point from walls to cabinets to chandelier to interlocking stones. May God progress all our ministries in the coming year.

Oga spyder, care to give an estimate for the plastering and painting for this house (per sq ft if you have it)?

I'm also seriously considering your carpenter for my cabinets as I mentioned. Does he buy the wood or will I have to supply? I'm guessing it's plywood or some other preformed. Any cost estimates there you'd care to give? Like how much for the wardrobe in the masters suite, or how much to put together the kitchen cabinets?

I'm always surprised at how much finishing and furnishing a house costs. If they say, it costs 5M to reach lintel, mentally multiply by 3 or 4 to finish (20M)

Thanks so much for all your fantastic work and leadership. God continue to shine his light upon you! I pray we get a chance to work together. I'm based around Asaba

Where do they get all these numbers from? Are you actually going to pay them, because I don't see their salary in the budget... just sayin'

"Oh good good, he kept our allowances and forex privileges"

Papa Harry Bubu, with all due respect, I'm not sure what you mean by pump price? I've been buying fuel for 120-150 since October in Lagos, Ilorin, Asaba so this your "promised pump price", where I for see am?

Instead of this scamsidy, just kukuma drop it and allow the market price of oil determine the price of PMS, and fix our roads with the savings. Since oil price has crashed, why are you spending forex defending the subsidy?

I promise me and my cohorts won't riot if you remove subsidy

tosyne2much:
My own pre-wedding pictures are nicer than this

I just hope a man who can undergo this stress will treat her right at the end of the day. Men wey dey mancho like dis no dey dey reliable


*somebody should quote me*

Yes oh. It's more important to be realiable over the long run, than all this macho stuff at the start. Trouble is most girls fall for this tactic...

Perhaps what is "wrong" is that often bandied number that "...over 60 percent of the population being stricken by poverty" quote.

Is this even true? Nigeria is much wealthier than we realize. Yes, we see poor people but this nation has enough people spending money on mobile phone and network time, beer, cars, pure water that I just can't believe this "60% in poverty hyperbole".

The economy is 550 billion or so, which really means about 800billion if you account for the estimated size of the informal economy.

What I'm trying to say folks is Nigeria is wealthy, even the millions of us on Nairaland making comments cannot be said to be poverty stricken. My only wish is that all this champagne money be invested in the Nigerian economy, to further boost the economy

sherina10:
Hello
he is very okay in person, very religious, very caring

If this is the case, then what's the problem. Is it an issue that in addition to being very caring and loving to you, that he also wants children? At least he didn't just want to have a side chick, but he wanted to make you wifey.

If anybody should be feeling bad, it's the first wife, for you will come to take her place in his heart. If you love him as you've said, then stay in the marriage, since there's no talk of abuse.

I really doubt that he see's you only as a second fiddle, baby making machine, so take it easy before you go and do something you'd later regret

Afam4eva:
Carnivals should be banned in this country. it's becoming rather embarassing. All the carnivals from Calabar to Lagos to Port Hacourt to Owerri all look the same to me. This is Africa for fvck sake and not the west indies. We should promote cultural festivals rather than this BS.

You know you're right, as you write in English using Chinese technologies, while wearing (probably) an American uniform (jeans and a tshirt) made in Vietnam, sipping on Irish brew

I'm going to put on my grey beard and suspenders, scratch said beard, and say "Young padawan" (assuming you're a young person, otherwise, this advice will prove totally inappropriate):

install OpenBSD on your laptop (or Linux or OSX)
get comfortable with the shell (bash and ksh), an editor (vi and emacs), and the "man" manual pages
go through this page http://c.learncodethehardway.org/book/
(don't just copy paste the C programs, but also read the articles)

After just 4 months dedicating yourself to this, you'll be on your way to being a programmer.

foldl:
If by network you mean working with raw sockets then you're fine with a language like Python which has excellent network libraries. With Python you don't loose out on speed since the libraries are implemented as C extensions, but you gain a clean and simple API.

Totally right, though someone has to write those C extensions which hook into the drivers. That's who I'm referring to when I talk about bare metal.

foldl:
For your information object oriented programming is inherently imperative, at least all existing implementations so far. If you really want to move away from imperative programming check out functional programming (I recommend Haskell).

Totally right; in fact I was tempted to mention functional programming, but wanted to keep the discussion on C-like languages that are supposed to allow the programmer to think in a more OO fashion.

As an aside, I've heard good things about Go (as an alternative to C for beginner programmers)

chris81964:
Your panels should face North and you might decide to angle them up to 30 degrees.

You're right, and that is the conventional wisdom, but this is being put up to debate:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/upshot/why-more-solar-panels-should-be-pointing-west-not-south.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomkonrad/2013/11/22/your-solar-panels-arent-facing-the-wrong-way

The gist is, yes, you may get less overall production, but you'll generate more energy when you need it most. Granted these articles discussed grid-tied systems, but I think it still applies to off-grid. In our case, as the Sun heads West and heats up the living room, it will also provide more power to the air conditioners. Ideally we won't need to use the AC at all during the night (and thus drain the batteries) since we've kept the building from heating up significantly. Also, since we also want to explore cooking with solar (using an induction cooker), we thought that because the greatest insolation at West (4-6pm) roughly coincides with when dinner is prepared, it would be best to generate the most power at that time.

Since this is an experiment, we are prepared to make real-world measurements and realign as needed. Will keep you posted.

omonnakoda:
... We should be importing machines and equipment not building materials ,clothes and basic electronics

Absolutely right. Just hope there's:

1. enough forex to buy these expensive machines
2. bank that will give me loan to import now that my retail business has crashed (hah hah, what revenue will I use to show the bank)
3. power for these machines
4. suitable raw materials (I don't plan to mine and preprocess silicon, iron, tin, rubber, petroleum all by myself) so I can make a tin can for my tomatoes or plastic container for my juice
5. A sea port near me so I can import machines without hauling them across from Lagos