₦airaland Forum

The idea is offensive, but more importantly, it's not even true. Not in the slightest. At all. Period.

Whats the cost of powering the machine for 24 hours on diesel to produce those blocks?

If you owned a company, would you sign such a deal? Would you work for a company
that agrees to a deal putting your life on the line in case of failure? Try to think things through.

If the figure was 10 times higher or ten times lower you would have reacted the same way.

Banks can fail, but the Federal Government will always be able to 'print' more naira to pay creditors.

The girl in the ABSU gang-rape video was decently dressed. That is all I have to say about the matter.

I think fixed deposit accounts are a waste of time.  The rates offered are unappealing
If you need a risk-free investment, look at FGN Bonds. See also: How To Invest In Nigerian Bonds.

UgoDre has just written a tutorial about getting a car loan in Nigeria.  It contains everything you need to know.

Mike: Hi Ugo I need a car loan how do i get one?

Ugo: Getting a car loan in Nigeria is not that difficult provided you are qualified for it. The following steps may just give you a shot at getting the loan

Mike: Hold on. Qualified? How is one qualified?

Ugo: Nigerian banks are very much inclined to extend car loans to individuals who have a regular income stream. A regular income stream basically means you have a regular source of revenue such as salary or income from a trade. Salary earners with companies that a well known have better chances of securing a car loan. Individuals who are self employed can also get a car loan provided they can prove that their business generates a regular pattern of inflow. The easiest way to demonstrate that is to show them your bank statement for a period of atleast 2 years. So basically, these are the guys that you can classify as qualified.

Mike: Now I get it. So if I was working for one "Baba A Supplies" I might not get a loan?

Ugo: The chances of getting the loan will indeed be very small. However, it does not rule you out completely as it only makes it more difficult. You will have to prove to them that the company is a viable company and that they are able to pay you continous salary for the period of the loan.

Mike: Ok so how can I get the loan?

Ugo: These are the following steps (For salary earners. Same maybe slightly different for self employed individuals)

Step 1: Identify the kind of car you wish to buy. Be it a tokunbo car or a brand new car the banks are always willing to finance. This is a very important step as you do not want to approach a bank without knowing what car you have in mind to buy. That way you have a guide even if you decide to change your mind on the type of car along the way. (continue here)

The full article (an informative must-read) is here: http://ugodre..com/2011/09/i-need-car-loan-101.html

logic1:
A survey of 1,004 out of 150,000,000 possible Nigerians is DEFINITELY NOT a survey especially when it involves economic figures!
It is highly lugubrious that this kind of mis-information can be published by a finance house.

If the participants in the survey were chosed randomly, then 1000 participants would be more than enough.
If the respondents were not chosen randomly, even 1 million participants won't give you an accurate answer.

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See https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-49962.0.html

Nagging works better if your goal is to kill your husband.
Silent treatment works if you want to kill your wife.
Neither of them is constructive.

What's your CAC Registration Number? Where is your head office located? Who sponsors the operation?

How will ignoring the rot in government convince people to buy The Moment instead of, say, Vanguard?
I feel current papers do a decent job of tackling corruption. They are a bit tactful, but that's about it.

Yesterday, we learnt about the decision by NEXT Newspapers to stop their printing press.
Today, yet another newspaper has been launched to change the face of journalism in Nigeria.

THE Moment, the latest and wave making newspaper in Nigeria, was yesterday officially launched in Lagos, with a commitment by the publisher to change the face of journalism in the country.

The event, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, attracted captains of industry, media representatives, royal fathers and other well wishers.

Speaking on the vision of the newspaper, the publisher, Mr. Moffat Ekoriko, said the paper was inspired by a patriotic zeal for a better Nigeria in addition to the desire to introduce a new trend into the country’s journalism.

He said The Moment would look at issues critically and reveal the truth always, adding that it would also make people to contribute to the development of the society.

He said his aim was to take the paper to number three position in the industry by the year 2013, explaining that the staff of the organisation had undergone rigorous training and are motivated to build a global newspaper.

‘We are floating a paper that will look at things critically and reveal the truth. The media must be the eyes of the society. We are publishing a paper that will make people contribute to the development of the society. We want a paper that will proffer solutions to Nigeria’s problems,’ he said.

Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Ufot Udeme, called for support for the new publication, noting that the challenge of sustaining a newspaper publication in Nigeria was very tasking.

He observed that the road to newspaper publication in the country is littered with ‘corpses.’ He therefore, urged the team behind the paper not to relent on its effort, as the business terrain is highly competitive and unfavourable.

Also giving a goodwill message, the Managing Director of Solutions Communications Limited, Mr. Gabriel Agbor, saluted the courage of the publisher, noting that at times like this it is difficult to take up newspaper publication because of the challenges involved.

While urging the publisher to remain firm on his vision, Agbor noted that circumstances that might be beyond his control could set in, but with hard work and a stroke of luck, he would succeed.

http://www.momentng.com/en/news/4199/the-moment-launched-in-lagos.html

Do they stand a chance?  I actually bought a copy of the newspaper on the stands today.  It's ok,
but as a business, I don't know that they stand a chance.  What will they do that NEXT didn't do?

Award winning journalists are good at what they do, and I respect the NEXT newspaper publisher and editors so much, but the newspaper market is a tough market that is actually dying all over the world. 

It's almost impossible to break into it and make money because:
1) Youths, who are more open to change, don't want to buy newspapers.  Ever.
2) Old men and women are creatures of habit.  They will continue buying the newspapers they are used to.

The 234next website was an early success, because NEXT Newspapers were the first to embrace the Internet. 
But the Vanguard Newspapers have really improved their web efforts, beating 234next and even Nairaland.

Price?

There's no such business. If there was such a business, everyone would want
to rush into it and the resulting competition would erase the profit margin. It's ridiculous.

@Lord Babs: It was rape. Any judge that decides that it was not rape is simply a corrupt judge.
The legal process is supposed to be a means of enforcing universal moral understandings: don't
kill, don't rape, don't cheat people. If the legal process gives rapists loopholes to escape punishment,
even when the laws are quite clear on what constitutes rape, then there is something wrong with it.

If your contention is that, because we are not judges, we are too dumb to understand the law
then why should we be tried and judged on the basis of laws we can't possibly understand?

When did it happen?

If you blackmail a girl to get her to sleep with you, it's rape.
If you sleep with your twin brother's wife pretending to be him, it's rape.
If you slap and hit a girl and threaten to hold her for 2 days if she "doesn't cooperate", it's rape.

Here's the legal definition of violation in Nigerian law:
"Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent,
or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm,
or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act,
or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband,
is guilty of an offence which is called violation."

Based on the above definition, any reasonable person will agree with me that the event that took place in the ABU video was, in fact, violation.  No question about it.  It's not even debatable.  They used force, they threatened her, and intimidated her to get her cooperation.  No question about that.

@hollandis: leave his innocent sisters (if anything) out of it. They didn't do or say anything bad.

How about a picture of a person whose organs are allegedly missing?

Check out this article on how Nigerians can invest in bonds:

What are bonds? Bonds are simply a term for loans that you give to the Federal Government, State Government, Companies etc.

Is it a document or what? It's simply a piece of paper issued by the Borrower (e.g the Government) stating the amount borrowed from you, the tenor (no of years with which to repay), interest rate, and repayment period

Why me? Can't they go to a bank to borrow money? You because you may have some money that you wish to save. You may say you have just N10k to save a month from your salary and wonder how that helps the government. Imagine that there are 1million people with N10k to save, that transcends to N10b already. Also have in mind that the money the banks actually lend are money deposited by you and I. So you and I are the major source of money for government, banks, corporations etc. That is why they tax us, pursue us to open accounts, and pressure us to buy their goods.

What's in it for me? Bond issuers (borrowers like the government) typically attach a coupon to the Bonds. Coupon are basically interest rates attached to the Bonds issues. For example, the Government can issue a bond for say N10b, 10year bonds at a coupon of 6%pa. What they mean is that they want to borrow N10b from the public and are willing to pay 6% interest rate for it per annum for a period of 10years. Usually they pay you the principal amount at maturity meaning at the end of 10years and sometimes they can have the option to "call back" which basically means the can pay you the principal before the 10 year period. Bonds with "Call Back" are always clearly stated in the prospectus.So, in a nutshell if you borrow them N10k, you form part of many others who must have lent them as well. They pay you N600 per annum and pay you the N10k a the end of 10 years.

What? Just N600? Yes just N600. Well, you may think of it as low but the if you put that same amount in a Savings Account of bank you'd probably get N200 and stand the risk of loosing it if the bank collapses. Besides if it is N1m you invest then that's N60k every year, N10m is N600k and N100m is N6m per annum.

Are you saying Government Can't collapse? Well technically they can but it's very unlikely. Even if they do, it's if there is a war but then they must repay after the war is over. Government bonds are mostly secure and are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the Government.

So I have to wait for 10years to get my money back? Off course not. The beauty of bonds is that you can exchange them just like shares. You can decide to sell your bond on the bond market if you want your money back.

Oh, so I put in N10k and get my N10k back plus interest? Yes if you decide to hold to maturity and wait for 10years. But if you wish to sell before then you can except that it could be worth more or less. Just like shares the value of bonds go up and down depending on economic factors. So, the bond you bought for N10k may be worth N11k or N9k when you are selling it. Just like shares, today it's up tomorrow it may be low. But at maturity (the repayment day) the government or borrower must pay you the face value. The face value is the N10k you paid them. Movement in the market does not affect what the borrower pays you.

So are bonds really like shares then? Not exactly, whilst both are investment securities they are different in their nature. When you buy shares, you buy right to earn a dividend of a company. Meaning that you only get dividends when the company decided to pay you. For a Bond, the borrower or issuer (that's is the Government or company) MUST pay you interest (coupon) a the stated date. In other words, owners of shares are equity holders, whilst owners of bonds are debt holders.

I have often heard of yields, what is that too? Well yields are basically interest on traded bonds. In my previous illustration I explained that the government pays you a coupon of 6%pa on your N10k bond. Since we understand that bonds are tradable, supposing the value was 9k at the time you sell the bond. It then means whomever buys it will earn N600 on the N9k he paid out. Thus his actual interest otherwise called yield is 600/9000 = 6.66%. So he gains an extra .66% and still gets to get another N1000 if he decides to wait till the maturity of the bond. They often say the yield of a bond moves in opposite direction to the value. Just as above, as the value dropped to N9k the yield increased to 6.66%.

That's cheating me isn't it? Nah not true. Remember, there is an opportunity cost you may incur if you do not sell. Imagine you had a business that will probably get you twice that amount if you sell. So instead of holding on just so it gets to 10k or higher, you sell and use the money for something more tangible. Also remember that you would have collected some interest as well. And then you can simply just hold on till maturity, it all depends on your opportunity cost.

Ok now I get it! How do I then invest? Bonds can be purchased either through the primary or secondary market.

The primary market is were you buy bonds that have just been offered by the seller like the Government (just like buying a public offer). The secondary market is where you buy tradable bonds that is, bonds from the bonds market (just like buying shares in the stock market). Bonds traded in the secondary market are usually done on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange or Over the Counter (OTC) through the PDMM

Bonds sold in the primary or secondary market are bought through a PDMM(Primary Dealer Market Maker). PDMM are operators licensed to buy and sell bonds. Most of them are banks like Zenith, GTB, UBA, Diamond Bank to name a few. They also have discount houses like Kakawa Discount House, FSDH who sell as well. You get the application form from them, fill it, include your cheque in full for the amount you wish to invest. You can invest as much as you can, from N10k to N1b depending on your capabilities financially. But the minimum is N10k and multiple of N1k thereafter.

The bonds purchased are confirmed through issuance of depository or issuance of certificates. The depository is the CSCS (Central Security Clearing System) an online storage for securities such as shares and bonds.

How do I get my interest? Interest on Government Bonds are paid Semi annually.For example in June and December or in January and July. Payment is through issuance of cheques or warrants, similar to the dividend warrants you get for shares.

Also note that interest rates can be fixed or floating. Fixed means when they say they will pay you 6%pa then it is 6%pa you get till the end if the maturity. Floating means they may pay you an amount that is linked to a are that moves with the market. For example they might say Nibor 8% plus 2%. Meaning the rate is benchmarked o. The Nigerian Interbank Official Rate (Nibor) of 8% plus 2%. The Nibor is a rate that banks use to lend money to each other and it always changes in response to market conditions and is thus the floating rate.

Full post: http://ugodre..com/2011/09/investing-in-nigerian-bonds-101.html

Do you have anything to add about bond investing in Nigeria? Let's share and learn from each other.

Moved to Business/Money

Thanks, lawyer. Need to get in touch with you too.

How is she now?

-> Business/Money

Hello Guys,

There was some controversy over the choice of Mr. Segun Agbaje as the new MD of GTB. 

Well, it's been a few months. How is his performance so far? 

Here's what one blogger has to say:

Those who abhor Segun may well be somewhat myopic and ungrateful. Here is a guy who has helped keep the bank sound, given the staff a sense of security and training likely above their peers in other banks. Its no coincidence staff turnover in GTB is probably the lowest in the industry. They probably don't acknowledge it but Uncle T must have otherwise he would have groomed a successor. He had once being seen that way too when he was in Segun's position. Those who knew him in the 90's when he was deputy to Fola say he was the harder of the two. Fola was the amiable one, the one they all loved to be.

Segun is at the helm now and maybe heads will roll or has started rolling. He learnt from two masters and I bet he learnt well. A despotic leader is not an option for GTB and I am sure he knows that. He has CBN and certainly some members of his board backing him up at least for continuity as a Vacuum helps no one. His experience and track record probably also makes him the right choice to lead the bank to next frontier. As for the staff and those who worry, its time to brace up and have a birds eye view. This is no time to be shortsighted.

New GTB MD, is he the wrong choice or are people just being myopic? - UgoDre

Wht's your opinion?