Yo Dubi, its VSC (Bijou). (you fit call me "Bijou" or "Plutonian" for here) Seems you changed ur mobile number. Call mine so I can get your new number; mine's still the same. I'll send you a Private Message here too, you can reply me there let's connect. I see you're doing some big things! Thats how we do. Keep it up! We go yan once you call.

*Update*
There's a delay with the arrangements and its not looking too good; the new date is now later this year (Nov 2012). I'll still keep you all posted.
Thanks.

@ojukwu24
For the most part, the charges are similar to Eyowo and the rest. If you check out the nairaland thread below, Eyowo's fees are talked about there. I have also quoted one specific comment/response of that thread (posted by "damola1" below, incase if you dont want to read through the entire thread (but I suggest you do).

https://www.nairaland.com/792437/eyowo-payment-gateway-youve-been/4#9598209
" 4. The 1% transaction fee is charged to the merchant. However, the burden of paying Interswitch's transaction fees and that of other gateways have been passed on to the buyer. What this means is if you pass a transaction of N5,000 to Eyowo, Eyowo in turn passes N5,076.14 to Interswitch (after duly informing the buyer) such that when the 1.5% transaction charge is taken off, exactly N5,000 is returned to Eyowo from which we now take out 1% and remit N4,950 to the Merchant's bank account.

, that means, total fees is about 2.5%

Also, i want to ask, since all these mastercard, visa card are being accepted outside the country, why can't we use those other payment gatewayS?
"

So just like the italicized comment above, I imagine that Voguepay works on that same premise (i.e. customer pays the interswitch 1.5% fee , then Voguepay user/merchant pays the 1% Voguepay COT; In Eyowo's case though, there's no withdrawal fee, but with Voguepay if the user/merchant wishes to withdraw they then also pay the Voguepay Withdrawal fee of currently 1% + N50 ).

Eyowo also has signup fees (N6,000 up to N60,000), which Voguepay doesnt, but Voguepay has a N1,000 "verification" fee.

A Voguepay insider would need to verify/confirm all what I've said , so that we dont spread wrong info.

So, @lojik,
Abeg verify/confirm my post above, and correct any errors/incorrect-statements I may have made, or add any omissions. Thanks Leke.

No offense meant to cashenvoy or anyone, but ... cashenvoy? really? Cashenvoy is okay (it meets a "small" need at this point in time), but its a "baby" (compared to the "giant" that's coming, so to speak). At this time, they just dont have the "complete line of services" which people need (maybe in future, they may; maybe!). Again, no offense and no hard feelings; I'm just speaking the truth, and I know you agree with me . Thanks.

Hi All,
A solution to the issue, Paypal, is coming. June/July this year (2012). Specific arrangements are still being done (and "Nigerian environment/factor" is slowing things down). ... I'll post an update much later.

Gymer, thanks for the explanation and examples. Quick question, I'm a bit confused, please :

The "plus 20% of gross income", is that added onto/with the N200,000 / 1% minimum (the higher of the two) as additional relief?

Also how does this differ from the example, you gave? Would it mean the above "consolidated relief" (including the additional 20%) will FIRST be deducted from the yearly income, before proceeding to calculate the tax amount from the balance after having taken the "reliefs" (and 20%) out? Thanks.

Thanks Lynx200. Got your email; I've sent you an email. Let's make things happen.

Anyone else/Everyone who wants to be part of the team bringing big change to our entertainment industry should PM me or post a reply here with contact so we can discuss. Cheers!

@ Olajide7
You are right, people go to the cinemas not just to watch movies, but to socialize (that is part of the entertainment) , probably not to meet a genevieve or jim iyke (except at a premier) , but to mix and mingle, to pick-up/be picked up, etc :-). Community Cinemas would offer the same and will be within reach (people don't have to travel that far just to go to a cinema); a clean environment and all that is obviously a must to be presentable/inviting.

@ DisGuy
We refers to I and my colleagues/partners (our Company). We've been in the background for a while setting things up, getting financing and looking at the market, and its ready for rollout; we need more partners/man-power to run/work with us to execute; we need dedicated people who have the same zeal, goals and drive as we do, that way we resonate. Launching will be in Dec/January, and in the next month we will kick-off advertising to come-out fully to the public. We briefly outlined what we were doing at the beginning of this year. It wont be easy, but nothing is easy.

Hi Croj,

Are you still nursing your dream of venturing into the cinema area? Its not cheap between , very costly actually, but finances wont be an issue with our company in the equation.
Where are you based currently? Lagos, Abuja, PH, , or ? Let me know, lets discuss further. Thanks.

Hi Sirheed89,

We can work on/assist with entering the cinema market in Kwara state.

We should talk further. I have some questions for you, as we can see your/your friends interests in this area and our company would love to discuss bringing you on-board to expand into that market. Some things we'd want to discuss with you amongst others are:
- Since you already have an area/market focus (Kwara/Ilorin), Do you already have a concrete plan on specific locations/Lands available/Actual building already available, which you have researched, the costs and reception by the public of a cinema in that area.
- how your finances are relating to the implementation.

What is your contact? PM me or post a reply here lets discuss further. Cheers.

Hi Disguy,

Swim, Definitely. Community Cinemas are a way to make cinema widely available, and is not new.

We should talk further. I have some questions for you, as we can see your interests in this area and our company wants to discuss bringing you on-board under one of our models/spin of a new model with you in charge. Some things we'd want to discuss with you amongst others are:
- What your area/market focus is. Do you already have a concrete plan on specific locations you have researched, the costs and reception by the public.
- how your finances are relating to the implementation.

What is your contact? PM me or post a reply here lets discuss further. Cheers.

Hi Jensinmi, others, it is true that removal of the subsidy will be a slap to the faces of Nigerian citizen (of which I am one, even though I travel out about 6mths in a yr to other African countries and to the USA/UK for business, so will bear "half the effects" so to speak). However lets look at it from a different angle.

I think this may be a move to checkmate the importer/sellers who are cheats. Think about it.

You mentioned that Otedola brings in 1million litres but says he brought in 2million, so the govt has to pay him for an additional 1 million right? Well that's because the govt is the one paying (through subsidy) for fuel that will be used, but has not even been sold to the citizens yet (or even if it has been sold, there is no way to prove he didnt bring in 2 million). Now if the subsidy is removed, and the price goes up (i.e. the citizens are the ones paying directly), there is no way an oil importer/seller can "sell 2 million litres" to the citizens when they only "brought in 1million". (Well, they could by "putting something else to make the fuel go up to 2 million litres, which would mean adulterated fuel, but thats a totally different discussion). So basically Otedola/importers/sellers cant get/embezzle the money through "over-quoting for subsidy ".

The down/negative side is that the citizen pay for it through their little & hard earned wages, and even though our country drills/produces oil, we are not benefiting from it (since no more subsidy, which for now looks like the only way citizens benefit from the oil Nigeria drills).  

Another down/negative side to this is that this doesn't stop corruption in the form of embezzlement of the revenue from the oil directly (without having to use "over-quoting tactics to take advantage of subsidy"    

What do you guys think? Lets discuss . . .

“But even Abraham Tithed” you say? Well, yes, but Abraham’s tithe was “Faith Based Abrahamic Covenant Tithing”, meaning – he did it because he felt like it, and had a purpose for doing it -- it was voluntary (Not law based, so doesn’t count), it was strictly on his PROFIT from war spoils (so if you want to compare it to today, you have to take care of ALL your responsibilities/debt/what you owe any/everybody, and then what you have left is really then your profit, which you may tithe on), and it was Faith Based. Please read the articles at the Link at the Bottom of my post for more explanations.

In reality, in today’s world, since nearly everyone is not a farmer, we can kind of justify that “okay, your monetary income is maybe the same as if you had a farm back then and had some produce, so you should tithe on it”. If we were to do that and then tithe accordingly, we should still ensure the tithing is done based on the definition of “what a tithe is” and “how and when it was instructed in the bible to be given” (i.e. only every 3 YEARS/ THIRD YEAR, was the tithe given to the Levites/Church, and the Levites/Church are the ones who would then take out “a tithe” from their own to give to the “Priest/Pastor” as his “salary/means of sustenance”. For the first and second years’ tithe, the bible demonstrated as we read in my post above that everyone ate the tithe basically, and in reality, it didn’t get to the hands of the Levites/Church at all; instead the Levites/Church workers were invited to such feasts).

Finally, this article is not meant for us as Christians to revolt against the church or pastors, neither is it meant to stop you from giving (Note that your TITHE and your OFFERING are two different things) it is just meant to establish the biblical truth about tithes and remove the yoke from people who labor to pay tithes ( not as instructed of them by God, but by the incorrect instructions of their pastors) while their pastors are living luxuriously. Today many pastors see the church as their personal business and even fraudulent people are opening up churches so that they can have access to people’s tithes and use it for their personal “luxuries and businesses”. I encourage all of us as Christians to remain vigilant and continue to serve God in truth and in faith!


So again, For A FULL revelation on TITHING (and to Buttress the points here, which are shortened due to space) visit:-- www.tithinginfo.com


PS:
Notice this telling bit of history from the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1963, volume 22, page 253, ‘TITHES’). “Tithes in Christendom—The earliest authentic example of anything like a law of the State enforcing payment appears to occur in the capitularies [Ecclesiasticals] of Charlemagne at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Tithes were, by that enactment, to be applied to the maintenance of the bishop, clergy, the poor, and the fabric of the church. In the course of time the principle of payment of tithes was extended far beyond its original intention. Thus, they became transferable to laymen and saleable like ordinary property, despite the injunctions of the third Lateran Council; and they became payable out of sources of income [not just farming and herding, but other trades and occupations and salaries paid in the form of money] not originally tithable.”

The Catholic Church knows its own history. Here is how tithing got back into the Church after being absent for nearly five centuries:

“As the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law… The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the [canons] of the Council of Macon in 585.”—The Catholic Encyclopaedia.

They “extended” their base of tithe collecting to eventually include all forms of income. All Christian scholars know that although money was in wide use in ancient Israel, it was never a tithe-able commodity. But modern pastors don’t want tithes of goats or oil or corn, they want money–cold, hard cash! God has a word to the “shepherds of the sheep”, and it is the very same message that He had for the Levites in the book of Malachi. And it is this:

“My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray” (Jer. 50:6).

Were Israelites aware that they were being led astray by their spiritual leaders? Not most, and neither are Christians today aware that they are being led astray by their spiritual leaders.

So again, For A FULL revelation on TITHING (and to Buttress the points here, which are shortened due to space) visit:-- www.tithinginfo.com.

To FREE your family, friends, relatives, and even enemies from the LIES, BONDAGE, and FRAUD, please refer them here to read this, and request that this post be made HOT priority on the front page. God Bless us all!

So what is a tithe and why did God request it be paid to the Levites? The answer is in the following passages: Lev. 27 : 30 – 32 -- “one tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit belongs to the lord. If a man wishes to buy back any of it he must pay the standard price plus an additional 20 per cent. One in every ten domestic animal belongs to the lord when the animals are counted, every tenth one belongs to the lord.”; also Deut. 26 : 12 -- “ every third year give the tithe a tenth of your crops to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans and the widows, so that in every community they will have all they need to eat”. These passages clearly tell us what a tithe is and the reason why God directed the people of Israel to pay tithes. It is evident that it was a social arrangement for the less privileged in the Jewish society of that time, it was also meant to take care of the Levites because they have no land or property of their own (today pastors are amongst the wealthiest property owners in Nigeria). This social arrangement is obviously not relevant to us today. It also states that every third year is the year of tithing (i,e, tithing to the Levites…etc) not the weekly/monthly tithes being extorted from church members today. Another passage that illustrates the true meaning of tithes properly and also states clearly that tithe is not money is Deut. 14 : 22 -29 which states that “ set aside a tithe a tenth of all that your fields produce each year then go to the one place where the lord your God has chosen to be worshiped and there in his presence eat the tithes of your grain, wine and olive oil and first born of your cattle and sheep. Do this so that you may learn to have reverence for the lord your God always. If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the lord has blessed you with, then sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship spend it on whatever you want beef, lamb, wine, beer and there in the presence of the lord you and your family are to eat and enjoy yourselves. [b]Do not neglect the Levites who live in your towns for they have no property of their own. At the end of every third year bring the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. This is food for the Levites [/b]since they own no property and for the orphans, foreigners and widows who live in your towns. Do this and the lord your God would bless you in everything you do” from the above passage, it is very clear that tithe is not money and it is not the exclusive preserve of the Levites (i.e. the church, tabernacle worker, worshippers back then whose fulltime job was to serve in church as worshippers, etc). It was a religious practice in those days to give reverence to God and to celebrate God in his place of worship. The Levites were only included for [b]the main reason that they have no land of their own; that reason is not relevant in today’s society. [/b]Yet some pastors would tell you that you are cursed and would not go to heaven if you don’t give them 10% of your gross income.

Now, if all the money being collected (fraudulently) was being used to propagate God’s work solely then that would not have been a problem, but the truth as we all know today is that this money is being used to finance lavish, flamboyant and exotic life styles that is unbecoming of a man who truly claims to serve God as a pastor who is expected to be meek and humble like Jesus Christ was. Now, before some people attack me, I am not saying the pastors should wear torn clothes or look poor; because to take the gospel/good news to the people you need to look presentable, right?

Now, even Jesus when he was on earth didn’t talk much about tithing (and he talked about a lot of important things). If it was such a BIG issue and people were “robbing God”, would he not have (even if its to shed some light on it; instead he only referenced it briefly like 3 times)?

Hello All, So, Let me provide the ANSWER, the TRUTH on this issue of tithing. This Tithing issue has been discussed before here on Nairaland a long time ago, and I had saved some excerpt from the post back then, which I have revised a bit based on my studies. There is also a link at the Bottom of my post (which is even longer, but if you TRULY want to be free, and help FREE others from the THIEVES, then I encourage you to be strong and read both my post, and the write-up at the LINK at the bottom of my post. God Bless and Open your Eyes as you read. Amen.)

I will cut my post into THREE (so you will see three consecutive posts from me), so that my post doesn’t get blocked.

“ will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say where in have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed me even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store house and prove me now here with saith the lord of hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there would not be room enough to receive it” Malachi 3 : 8 – 10

The above scripture is probably one of the most quoted scripture in the bible. Unfortunately it is being quoted out of context and used as a weapon of mass intimidation, manipulation, extortion, oppression, cajolery and outright lies and deceit by some church leaders to collect ten percent of the gross income of their church members who have been hoodwinked into believing that they are doing God’s will.

Before going into the details of this discourse, I want to state categorically that I am a God loving, bible believing Christian who has the fear of God. This article wasn’t written to undermine any church or pastor but to let people realize the truth about tithes and remove the yoke of tithes being placed by some pastors upon them. I also want to state categorically that I strongly believe in giving to the church for the sole purpose of propagating God’s work and the Christian ministry. I would also continue to encourage all Christians to give their all to God as exemplified by the widow’s mite which Jesus Christ himself referred to in the bible (but to do so not out of compulsion, but out of free will, and if told personally by God/the Holy Spirit to do so).

LETS BEGIN:- On Malachi 3 : 8 – 10, the first question one should ask is “who was this message directed at?” The answer lies in Numbers 18 : 25 -28 -- “the lord commanded Moses to say to the Levites when you receive from the Israelites the tithe that the lord gives you as your possession, you must present a tenth of it as a special contribution to the lord. This special contribution will be considered as the equivalent of the offering which the farmer makes of new grain and wine. In this way you would also present the special contribution which belongs to the lord from all the tithes which you receive from the Israelites. You are to give this special contribution for the lord to Aaron the priest”; -- from the verses it is clear that it was the Levites that were directed to pay a tithe of the tithe they collected from the Israelites to the priest who represents God and NOT the people of Israel. It was the Levites that were being referred to in the book of Malachi as those who rob God. A thorough study of the book of Malachi would reveal that in those days the Levites were collecting the tithe from the people of Israel and not remitting a tithe of it to the house of God, hence Malachi’s statement which is now being quoted out of context. To understand what tithes really means one would have to understand the social reasons and cultural / religious setting within which it was situated. This concept of tithes was properly explained in the bible as stated in the laws of the tithe found in the books of Lev. 27 : 30 – 34, Numb 18 : 25 – 31 and Deut. 14 : 22 – 29. On reading those passages one would understand what tithes really mean; unfortunately most pastors prefer to neglect those passages that tell us the true meaning of tithes and emphasize on Malachi 3 : 8 - 10 which was directed to the Levites of that time to remit the priest’s share of the tithes they collected to him. It is worthy of note that Malachi does not even define what tithes is and how it should be paid. The definition of tithes as practiced today was [b]manufactured by modern day pastors to suit their purpose [/b]as it is completely in contrast with what is in the bible and it only seeks to manipulate Christians to believe that God requests 10 per cent of their gross income from them.

" , Facebook has grown so big that the only thing other social networks can do is just die. MySpace, Hi5, and even Google’s social network (Orkut), and Microsoft’s Live Spaces have been beaten and are still losing members every day. If Google and Microsoft can’t beat them, I don’t think I should waste my time, " - Interesting response Seun, but kind of true (and funny response too; especially the "die part".

I do have an idea for you though; you can be in the "league" of facebook and not have to "beat" them (or compete with them directly). I'll try get in touch with you sometime soon to share my ideas.

More power to your elbow Seun. Guys like you are what Nigeria needs. We will change Nigeria; we will change Africa!

@ nickeyxx4u, where are you based? are you in Nigeria, Ghana, US, UK , ? I'd like to refer you to a colleague with our company who can get in touch with you. If you were in Lagos, I would've contacted you myself, but I just traveled out last week. What are you into in the film industry? (graphics, cinematographer, editor, writer, composer??)

@ Boyce, hey Boyce, I spoke to a manager over the weekend, and sent him over to your page. I think he should be contacting you sometime later this week.

Thanks Guys! Are there more people out there who are joining in on bringing the change we need? You should be speaking out here , we need YOU!

^ We have a solution. . But we still need the help of the people to make it work fully. We will reveal the solution this year; but first - priority on our list of things to do is for the company to hire employees for various positions.

Things will change this year. . (Pirates won't know what hit them, so to speak; and then aside from our solution, our lobbying is underway, so the law is going to be cracking down on lots this year).

The part you can play is: Spread the word about us, Join in on the change (i.e. apply to work with the company if you know you have the talent we'll need), Patronize our products and help us during implementation of our solution(s), and most importantly don't patronize pirates (I know the last one can be hard, but its a gradual process - phase out the use/purchase of pirated products gradually until you fully use/purchase originals).

TO Steeze, Phinter,
I have sent an email to both of you. Send me a sample or synopsis of your work for us to assess.

TO Gal90,
Are you into anything specific in the industry (you mentioned styling in your post; do you mean styling as in for the makeup and design aspects?) Please expatiate. Thank you.

To STEEZE:

Thanks. You may send me your synopsis; we are looking for a script writer and a great story; multiple writers in fact. We are currently making arrangements for the auditions and interviews which I mentioned earlier for December 2010/January 2011; Please spread the word and do make plans to attend. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks.

To Hilli66 above:-

You are correct. You touched on the very salient points. If I may ask, what are your plans for the future (I noticed you said you did the cinematography just as a hobby, yet you are quite informed). If you are in the US (maybe I can contact you here), will you be going to Nigeria too this December and Any chance I can get you on a team of ours? Thanks.

Afternoon ladies and gents, I can't agree more about the current nature and state of our Film industry, and the need for change. I so much believe in this change that I and a couple of my friends/colleagues (we are all from different countries - Nigeria, Ghana and South-Africa) have given ourselves the task of advocating and bringing this change.

Beginning next year, there will be a revolution for the film making industry. I and my colleagues left the shores of Nigeria and went to the Uk and USA to study film production, directing and animation all the way. This year we have been doing some test runs (but won't be releasing anything yet, until we are satisfied with our perfect production, as "you do not need or have a second chance to make a first impression" while taking a look at our own film industry to see how we can integrate what we have learned and make that change. We tried coming home every Christmas to see how things are going at home, and so that we will still keep ourselves present/up to date of the reality, and that has helped with our planning.

I and my colleagues will be coming home finally end of this year, and we will be having massive auditions nationwide, and not only in Nigeria, but also in Ghana, and possibly South Africa; we intend to screen the populace and pick those with REAL talent (and also potential, which we will help them build upon); with the completion of this mammoth task which we have dealt ourselves, we will birth a new film industry (and it will not be called nollywood - I personally dont like that word which is just a derivation of hollywood. we usually ask ourselves time and again why nollywood [and also ghollywood] was chosen just to make it sound like hollywood when there are a lot of other names more indigenous to the country that could have been chosen).

With that said, mark this as a minimal advertisement of what is to come. We know that it will not be easy, and it will definitely cost us a lot as well as cost you - the people (nothing good comes cheap, so if we want change we have to be willing to pay a price for it), but with the help of our fellow country people, we should be able to achieve the goal in due time. Please pass on the word to your friends and colleagues, families and loved ones, and even to your enemies to prepare for this massive audition and employment opportunity, come December 2010/January 2011. We know that a lot of people may want to travel to their homes/villages for the festive season, which is the reason why we are considering holding auditions and interviews up until January. We will keep you updated with information as the time draws closer.

To those who dumped/stopped watching movies from our film industry, don't worry, I personally make you this promise, come next year, you will start watching movies made in our film industry - the new film industry.

Let us bring the change we need! We will bring that change we need! Thanks.

Good analysis lawisong; its always good to consider both sides of the coin. I must say however that even in the US the "public/federal/state" universities have 3 types of tuition:
- "in-state" tuition (i.e. for residents of a state who school at the university there in their own state. This "instate tuition" is very subsidized!)
- "out-of-state" tuition (i.e. for people who don't school in their own state but go to a university in another US state. This "out-of-state tuition" is much higher than what an instate student pays)
- finally "international tuition" (for foreigners. This is the costliest, and is indeed very pricey!)
Also, the US government provides federal loan to every student thats a US citizen (or almost every) who really cant afford the upfront cost at whatever university they choose; after graduation the student pays back gradually. Now, in Nigeria, if the government provides better infrastructures and raises the education cost/tuition, well they (the govt) should assist the average Nigerian family in sending their children to school, by also increasing the minimum wages/salary and by providing federal assistance in form of loans. How can a civil servant earning the currently "very low/close to useless"minimum wage afford to pay the new/higher tuition with that low wage? There lies the problem. People who work in private sectors may not really have this issue since that sector pays better.

Nigeria makes a lot of money from our oil/export trades. These profits are supposed to be used for things like providing infrastructures and "subsidizing" the costs (amongst other important things of course). This is what is done in the US (for e.g. the current subsidized health insurance/medicare that Obama has been pushing for). Until Nigerian leaders can learn from developed & succeeding nations, what these small secrets are to success (which are really not secrets by the way, because even we normal citizens of Nigeria can see exactly what those nations do to succeed) there will not be much progress/development. Its sad, but thats the truth.

I do like how you provided a good explanation though!

With that said, the following guys have made nice suggestions of the way out this mess: M.O.S.S, Lepere, thisme, igbonla, and Oge4real

It takes courage.   Lets see what the closest future (2011 election) holds, and hope/pray for the best.

Hi grafikdon. boi oh boi, dats some Good work u got dere. I was wondering if u will be able to complete d mark of uru this year, along with the zikora? "Awufu PLC" u say? haha! well, i dont know how far u don go, but if u can definitely complete dem by november den let me know. Besides where r u located now? Nigeria, USA, London , ?