₦airaland Forum

Let's say you had the power to affect people's minds so that they would do anything you wanted. Would you use this power at all?

Have you watched Bruce Almighty?

If you would use it, how frequently and on what occasions would you use it?

Constantly and all the time, of course. I will use it for selfish reasons as well as altruistic reasons.

Would you use it to make someone to become strongly attracted to you?

Only if I'm strongly attracted to the person: Natalie Portman, Jessica Alba, Fantasia Barrino, you are mine Buhaha!

Calm down, brother Raymand. We all know that this is not going to happen. I will only support the taking over of Nigeria by the USA if all Nigerian citizens are granted the full rights and travel privileges of US citizens.

Nairaland is nothing compared to this vaporware I'm working on. If that succeeds, then we can talk about IPO.

See also: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040805/2348200.shtml (craigslist)

That is a highly flawed statement if a bus costs 1million naira and you gave 1,000 people 1,000 naira each, would any of the individuals ever be able to purchase a carbus?

If you give 1000 people 1000 naira each, and they need a bus, the bus manufacturer will just have to hire a driver and operate a transport service that costs maybe 100 naira per journey. He'll eventually get his 1 million naira.

However, your example is an extreme and unrealistic case. Most things we need in this country can be provided by a a distributed community of entrepreneurs working independently:

- For example, education is provided when thousands of small businessmen from all over the country scrape a little money together to start their own private schools. This collective becomes an educational system.

- Food is provided when thousands of farmers all over the country do their normal jobs at the farm.

- Health is provided when business-savvy medical doctors figure out ways to provide affordable healtcare to their small communities in order not to go out of business.

- Refineries are provided when businessmen are allowed to buy crude oil at the free market price, without having to bribe any government officials, and they refine the crude oil with chemistry 102 technology

- Beautiful roads can be provided when communities living next to the roads are allowed to erect toll booths and charge road users for the use of the road, so they can use the money to keep the roads in top shape.

NO, but when the money is used as a single unit, a bus can be obtained that can be used by the people in groups

Most of the money will end up in the pocket of the lucky bastard who is chosen to manage the money.

its the same principle by which we pool resources in banks so as to use them for large developmental purposes through savings, etc.

It will be virtually impossible on the other hand to convince each and every one of those 1,000 to agree to buy one bus, some people would want to buy chicken, or watch movies or do something else with theirs.

So what? Why should Mamaput be forced to pay for a bus if all she needs in her own life is chicken? What good does the bus do her if she never travels out of her town? If the bus is truly important, people will contribute. If people do not contribute, then maybe the bus is not so important. Without free choice, we are but slaves.

It is unreasonable and very unrealistic that you will get $40 billion cash to distribute

It doesn't have to be distributed in cash. It can be distributed through banks. It can be distributed gradually.

but if spent gradually, the shocks to the economy will not be the same.

Good. I repeat, this plan allows for gradual distribution. The corporation managing the funds can pay interest to those who are willing to wait for a few years before withdrawing the money. There will be no shocks.

Reserves are not supposed to be in your pocket

This is not a moral issue. Oil revenue can be wherever we want it to be. They can be in bank accounts, too.

Hmmm, I don't want to respond to that yet. Are there any other points of view? How do you see this plan?

Supposing the money is not paid gradually, and the $40 billion reserve is paid out at once, what will happen?

- There will be dollars everywhere, so the dollar will become very cheap. As people try to convert their dollars into Naira, the exchange rate of the dollar will keep crashing, until it reaches maybe 70 naira.

- Because of the cheap dollar, importation will become less expensive. We'll be able to import cheaper computers, generating sets, spare parts for manufacturing equipment, up-to-date textbooks, et cetera.

- If the central bank attempts to prevent the naira from appreciating by increasing supply, there will be inflation. If they do nothing, I expect deflation, because the demand for the naira would be much higher.

Hmmm, 4 Play, I think our initial analysis was wrong. I think it will tend to cause deflation and not inflation. Of course I don't know the exact amount of deflation it will cause, or the exact exchange rate that will result.

The idea of the reserves is that money is reserved.Spending $40 billion is not the same as reserving it.Would an injection of $40 billion into a $100 billion Nigerian economy cause inflation? You bet it would.

Won't it be spent eventually? When it's eventually spent, won't it cause the same amount of inflation?
Having said that, there's no reason why the money can't be released gradually to spread the effect over time.
(What does your $100 billion figure for the Nigerian economy imply? Much of Nigeria's economy isn't accounted for.)

When we get foreign aid to the tune of billions to fight "malaria" why don't we complain about inflation?
If Nigerians start getting billions of dollars from IT outsourcing, won't it cause inflation? So should we oppose that?

Hello,

I've decided to create the discussion forum to end all forums. A Nairaland for 'Web 2.0'.

- Like Youtube, Flicr and Del.Icio.us, it will use tagging for dynamic categorization.

- Like Gmail, it will use a statistical text categorizer for automatic spam detection and elimination.

- Like Nairaland, it will be a broad forum that covers every topic under the sun.

- Unlike Nairaland, it will strive to be a resource rather than a community. Communities are stressful.

- Like Google, it will rely on privately-developed web applications written with the Python language.

- Like Yahoo Mail, it will be free for all to use and supported with advertisements.

If I am lucky, it will be the most popular African website in 2 or 3 years. If not, it will at least break even.

I thought you should know.

If we pay off to everyone our reserves,we will have no reserves!

Good! That is less money for corrupt politicians to steal! Our 'reserves' will be in our pockets, as they should be.

Are you talking about redistribution of just the reserves or oil revenues as well

Yes, I'm talking about a portion of the current reserves as well as any future revenue 'Nigeria' gets from oil.

I know you think this is a socialist plan, but it's not. Capitalism is about choice. I am suggesting is that, since the government is claiming that the oil belongs to the people, then the revenues obtained from this oil should be given to us. I'm saying we should give Nigerians the freedom to choose how to spend 'their' oil money.

We will have hyperinflation and a loss of confidence in the economy

<sarcasm>You are right. Alaska is currently being ravaged by hyper-inflation</sarcasm>

On a more serious note, the effect of $40 billion in foreign exchange on inflation is the same regardless of the spender. The net effect of $40 billion in foreign exchange is that we'll be able to import more stuff for a while.

Source, sir?

If the oil money is not enough to enable Nigerians to directly purchase the services that they need, such as private food, healthcare, and education, then it cannot be enough to enable government to provide the same services. It will be up to every Nigerian to prioritize his needs and spend the money on what he/she feels is more important.

what dividend is the $40billion paying to Nigerian Citizen?

Every man, woman and child in Nigeria will get about 36000 naira out of that $40 billion. For children, the dividends can be accumulated and then paid to them when they turn 18 or 21. Poor villagers would appreciate it!

Political office will not be so juicy except for starters in the Niger Delta states which will all be very rich initially

Their state governments won't be particularly rich, but the citizens would be much richer than they are now.

Not sure what part of Alaska you get this story from but I used to live in ALASKA and don't recalled ever getting any such dividend from any oil funds.

Are you a citizen of Alaska? Read this page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Permanent_Fund

wikipedia: The Permanent Fund Dividend is a program benefiting Alaskans without a felony conviction who have resided in the state for at least one calendar year. The amount of each payment is based upon a five year average of the Permanent Fund's performance and varies widely depending on the stock market and many other factors. Though the payouts have varied from the smallest ($331.29 per person in 1984) and the largest ($1963.86 per person in 2000), they usually vary between $600 and $1500 ($900 and $1800 when adjusted for 2005 dollars).

Hmmm. Good point, but I don't think a domineering man would "allow" his wife to contest in the elections!

Further clarification:
- The real Interswitch website is www.interswitch[b]ng[/b].com.
- The fake Interswitch website is www.interswitch[b]n[/b]ig.com (a phishing site) but it's currently down.

When the people of Alaska discovered that their politicians were not managing the oil revenues according to their interests, they decided to create a government-managed corporation that would invest the oil revenues from the state in the capital market and then pay yearly dividends to every citizen of the country, rich or poor!

The political crisis in the Niger Delta area would not exist if we had such an arrangement. Instead of foolishly trusting our corrupt politicians to manage our oil revenue for "us" (i.e. themselves), we should organize something like that in Nigeria. If the oil belongs to Nigerians, then the money that the oil is generating should be paid to us!

When that dividend is paid, then it will be the duty of every Nigerian to spend it wisely. How do you see this?

The solution is 'ban'!

i really do have feelings for her.

"Feelings" are not worth losing your job over. I have "feelings" for Natalie Portman too. And so what?

Its bettter she makes her excuses and quietly leaves than inform the Police.

Why is it better? Can't she drop an anonymous tip from a payphone?

Hmmmm. I can't answer that question, but here's an excellent page with python programming snippets:
http://sebsauvage.net/python/snyppets/#beginner

Hmmm. The computer retailing business is one I've been interested in for a while, but I'm not quite ready yet.

Our Multilnks Versus Starcomms Thread might interest you.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the general supervision of the Director of the Regional Country Department, the Country Program Officer (CPO) will have the responsibility for portfolio coordination in a country or countries and the overview of country portfolio issues and problems. The major role of the CPO will be country programming, as well as portfolio management and supervision. This will enhance the quality of the portfolio management and administrative follow-up on operational activities, as will also as enhance the coordination between Country and Sector departments and the Financial Control Department (FFCO), as well as the effectiveness of the Country Teams concerned. The CPO will have responsibility for country portfolio reviews and follow up on Operations Evaluation Department (OPEV) and project audit recommendations. He/she will have a mastery of the country’s portfolio and will have responsibility for preparing the country briefs for Annual Meetings and as may be requested by Senior Management for other meetings.

Specific Duties

* Actively monitor and manage the Bank’s portfolio in the assigned countries, as well as regional projects implemented by Regional Economic Communities, in collaboration with the Sector Departments.
* Maintain effective communication with the Sector Departments and other relevant units in the Bank, to ensure a coordinated approach in the implementation of the Bank’s Strategy and Lending Operations in assigned countries.
* Back up Directors when they are based in the field, and liaise and communicate with the Field Offices and Sector Departments.
* Build and maintain effective professional communications and relations with development partners.
* Stay effectively informed, and effectively communicate to headquarters, about operational developments with other partners.
* Identify and initiate prompt actions to address portfolio performance and ADB service delivery problems as they arise.
* Contribute to obtaining effective solutions/responses to issues raised by the assigned country and partners.
* Participate in the preparation of Portfolio Reviews in collaboration with the Country Economist
* Follow up on OPEV and project audit recommendations and requirements of the Board.
* Prepare country briefs for Annual Meetings and other briefs to Management.
* Coordinate portfolio management and country programming, and in particular identification and portfolio review missions.
* Act as the focal point for the portfolio in each country and serve as the central repository of all information on the Bank’s portfolio and other activities in the country of responsibility.
* Work with Sector experts responsible for specific projects to ensure that solutions to pending projects problems are resolved; serve as Secretary to the Country Team.
* Serve as focal point and spokesperson on operational issues in country of responsibility for external constituencies and borrowers.
* Undertake launching missions to countries in concert with Sector experts.
* Ensure that activity reports and audit reports comply with Bank requirements and are submitted on time;
* Ensure that the recommendations of supervision, portfolio review and audit missions are implemented.



Selection Criteria (including desirable skills, knowledge and experience) :

* At least a Master’s degree (or its university equivalent) in a relevant development discipline.
* Preferably a minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in the formulation and implementation of policies, programs and projects either within the Bank, with a similar development institution/ public service or in the private sector.
* Proven ability to monitor programs and to ensure quality of portfolio/program performance.
* Ability to address issues of portfolio management across sectors.
* Client and results oriented individual, with strong analytical and communication (both verbally and in writing) skills, sense of accuracy and attention to detail.
* Ability to deal with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues.
* Ability to communicate and write effectively in English and/or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language; on top of the aforementioned language requirements, for the ORWB Department, command of Portuguese (both verbal and in writing) will be an advantage.
* Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint).

The rest of the information is available on the attachment. Closing date: April 22nd

I hate films about slavery. Bad deeds from the ancient past should be buried and forgotten so we can progress!

If you started to run from every Nigerian engaged in criminal activity,you might as well stop dating Nigerians.

That's much better than going to jail for what you know nothing about. So please run for your life and freedom!

If you are not sure that he's a drug dealer, then you can report to the police. Investigating such things is their job!

Sorry about the situation. I think your friend should start counting his blessings - he won't have to pay her fare!!

Just pray to your god that law enforcement officials don't read forums.