Onegai:

All the naija boys I know doing unskilled labour abroad for long periods of time are hustling either because
1. Dem no get paper, so they can't get a legal paying job
2. Dem no get education, so they are unemployable and if they were in Nigeria, they'd be selling spare-parts in Alaba
3. Dem need 3 jobs to support mummy, daddy, sister, brother, wife, 4 children, 2 girlfriends, numerous friends and hanger-ons that they have to show off to when they come for christmas in Naija

When I was in college, I once had a job preparing Bill of Lading and Manifests for truck drivers. One of the truck drivers was a Nigerian college graduate named Chris. However, he did own the box truck he drove.

Onegai:
I am yet to see any engineer or doctor in the US driving truck without the above reasons. Most will start their own business.

Where will the money for starting a business come from? How about those that started a business and lost all their money; where will they get money from? Do you have any idea what your turnover in a business needs to be before you can have enough money to pay for your necessities and bills while maintaining or increasing your principal investment?

Are the people against Dangote now saying that EVERY single graduate deserves an office (white-collar) job? How about those that graduated that had no business going to college in the first place?

The bottom line is that going to college does not mean that one is smarter than a non-graduate or business savvy but it does mean that you have what it takes to finish what you started by hook or by crook. At least, he's not asking for a specific GPA his he?

Dangote Academy is a centre of excellence for talent development in Dangote Group. It seeks to provide the talent pipeline for the Group while filling the industrial skill-gap in Nigeria.

The Academy has just initiated a project called, /he Drivers Academy” which aims at recruiting and training 2,000 Nigerian graduates to become professional heavy vehicle drivers for the newly established Super Fleet of the Group. This initiative will assist to uplift the operating standards in road transport industry, promote entrepreneurship and open up career opportunities.

Dangote Transport operates an exclusive haulage business to meet the transportation requirement of the group with a fleet of over 5,000 trucks. Its activities include facilitating transportation of raw materials from the ports to the factories and the distribution of finished goods to warehouse, depots and customers across the country.

Job Title: Graduate Drivers
THE IDEAL CANDIDATES
• Candidates should have a B.sc., HND, OND or NCE certificate (in any discipline)
• Not less than 25 years of age
• Physically fit
• Responsible and mature
• No prior driving experience required

BENEFITS
Dangote Academy in partnership with the NITT – Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria would offer intensive training programme to successful candidates on safe and defensive driving, as well as basic vehicle maintenance and upkeep. Other national road regulatory agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Federal Vehicle Inspection Office (FVIO) will collaborate with NITT to deliver a comprehensive training package. On completion of training, successful candidates would be issued with heavy vehicle driving license and offered employment in Dangote Transport.

How to Apply
Interested candidate should send CVs to jobs@dangote.com within two weeks of this publication. This information is also available at www.dangote.com

http://www.sasabook.com/2012/07/31/graduate-trainee-driver-job-vacancies-at-dangote-group-www-dangote-com-today-august-2012/

Here are some postings for jobs in the US for companies that "prefer" drivers with college credits.

Personal Driver
Candidate will have completed High School, College degree preferred
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=JHL1YH6JW11D7CKV4KP&IPath=ILKV1Y

CDL B WITH HAZMAT - CITY DELIVERY DRIVER - STERLING, CO
A high school diploma is required although we prefer college credit. No GED's will be accepted.
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=JB70N767SNHRMBBX9D1&IPath=ILKV0C

PART TIME STORE DRIVER
High school diploma or GED required, some college credit preferred.
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J3H7SJ6BPB9K0Y6JMQV&IPath=ILKV0R

What is wrong with a graduate being a truck driver? It all depends on who owns the truck and/or the kind of truck being driven. If I have a loaded trailer that's worth millions of dollars, you better believe that I would want someone with common sense to be the driver!

Even in the US, there are a lot of graduates that drive their own trailer-head (cab) to pick up trailers from manufacturers or loading companies.

For those in the US, next time you see a trailer being pulled, take a look at the driver's door and you would most likely see a different company name than what's on the trailer. The drivers are mostly contractors that own the trailer head. How many non-graduates can pass the CDL exams and also own $100,000 trailer head?

The guy might just be trying to raise the bar and avoid all the negative news about trailers crushing people on the highway!

Moreover, is it not better to be a graduate truck driver than to be an unemployed graduate waiting for the next handout? Nigerians and their misplaced priorities!

Different occasion calls for different types of restaurant. There are times that you want to be pampered or enjoy the good life, and there are other times that you just want to throw down and only a buka will do.

On a first date, you guys are still trying to impress each other and such a restaurant shows that your suitor has good taste, albeit an expensive one. More than likely, subsequent dates will be at a more regular restaurant except on special occasions.

If as a businessman most of your chargebacks originate from a certain location that makes up a very small percentage of your sales, it is only normal that you become wary of that location.

Why would a merchant ship to Nigeria if there’s a high possibility that such shipment will result in loss of his goods and profit? Nigeria is the worst country in the world when it comes to chargebacks.

Chargeback is when a credit card issuing bank forcefully retrieves money paid to a merchant. If a yahoo-yahoo person buys a product with a stolen credit card and the merchant ships the product, the real owner of the credit card can call the credit card company to refund his money. The merchant is now out the money that was paid to him and the goods that he shipped since the yahoo guy won’t return the shipment.

Hey Siena, good luck with your build! What are your plans with the car? Wheel-to-wheel racing or autocrossing? Are you going to cage it since you've already stripped it?

emperorlog: i am intending to buy the 2008 BMW X3. I have been doing so many findings but so far i am not convinced about the performance of the car considering fuel consumption, maintenance and the likes though i heard it drives smoothly and fully balanced. I would love to be enlightened from experienced people please. Thanks

Fuel consumption compared to what? Compared to other SUVs in its class, it should rate very well. Six speed tranny with modern engine to limit fuel consumption.

The only problem that I see with driving cars like this in Nigeria is due to the lack of quality fuel. In Nigeria, you seem to only have one grade of fuel and it's probably the lowest one, 87 octane rating.

The engines in modern BMWs require a minimum of 91 octane rating (RON) and I don’t believe you can find it in Nigeria. This means that the car will run inefficiently and burn more fuel because the ECU (computer) will try to compensate for bad fuel by retarding timing.

Essentially, the higher the octane rating, the less likely the fuel will detonate under pressure. If the fuel detonates too early (knock), the ECU will minimize the compression of the engine to accommodate the bad/inadequate fuel.

Of course you can add octane boosters to the fuel to bring up the octane rating. Hopefully, I didn’t confuse you.

2008 is a good year to buy because the SUV was updated (LCI) in 2007.

Billyonaire: Well, I do have a RRS but I didnt know X5 is better clone, I dont just like the look of X5. Its my personal opinion anyway.

When BMW bought Land Rover, they pretty much dissected the RR HSE and improved on it for the first version of the X5. That's why the X5 was a hit right out the gate.

I also like the RRS and looking forward to the new one (2013?) that’s rumored to be about 800 lbs lighter.

faithin9ja:

...Export-oriented factories is what we need. Produce items that others will buy from us with hard FX. this is how Japan and Taiwan started, China is now there, check all the clothes factories in Vietnam and Bangladesh making clothes to be sold all over the world.

My example above; a factory to make the cases (only the cases) for batteries inside mobile phones could probably turnover $5million a year that is more than N600 million. How many factories in Ajao or Isolo can boast of that kind of turnover?. Plus this brings foreign exchange and you will need to keep the factory update to maintain quality for your foreign markets.

However this is very difficult to set up.No government support, poor infrastructure, poor finance, bad government that will frustrate your attempts to even export out of Apapa or Tin Can - this is all before you start looking for your foreign markets.

it's easier for me to import $100,000 of pampers and sell at 15% mark up every 90 days.

I really wish that I have more time to respond to your posts in detail but here's the gist of my argument: what comparative advantage do we have over east Asian countries that produce the low cost parts like cell phone cases and can we ever compete with them head-on?

Keep in mind the following:
1. they have constant power supply;
2. their leaders artificially foster growth in certain sectors;
3. they have the technology needed;
4. they have the skilled workers needed;
5. they have cheap labor;
6. they have stable governments which encourages FDI;
7. they have and enforce intellectual property and contract laws, albeit sometimes selectively;
8. they have better schools and graduate more engineers;
9. their infrastructure is up-to-date, etc.

We have a few things going for us that we can take advantage of without going into a head-on competition with Asian countries that have perfected low cost manufacturing. We have a population of 160 million consumers and about that much more in other Western African countries that we can easily export to. Nigeria cannot compete directly in the global market place, at least not yet. For now, local manufacturers should be able to milk the 160 million consumers for all they consume, which should give us time to perfect our manufacturing methods.

Also, oil cannot be a comparative advantage except as it relates to the availability of cheap local fuel for manufacturing, which does not exist. Today, the cost per liter of consumed fuel in Nigeria is on par with the rest of the world after subsidies/allocated subsidy funds are taken into account.

yungboss: soon to be owned...above and herewith:

Just make sure that the M3 is thoroughly checked for cracks in the sub-frame area because I can see from the pictures above that it's being tracked. Also, check for compression in the cylinders, vanos problems, etc

Billyonaire: Am a fan of BMW, although I havent owned one. I drive only SUVs and I havent seen any of the BMW SUVs that tickles my fancy, the X6 is a cross-over and I am kind of thinking its great for the feminine folks. I hope they come up with something nice for me. For now, I remain a great fan of their engine technologies.

Which SUV tickles your fancy? Hopefully, you won't say Ranger Rover Sport because BMW's X5 is a better clone of the RR.

Ngutor: Thank you yungboss am clear now. Have you used a bmw? If you have which engine variant of the E46 would you recommend? What is the major drawback of the 3series?

You can pretty much get any 323, 325, 328, or 330. Keep in mind that for E46s, the 323 became 325, and the 328 became 330. I would say that you'd be better off getting an E46 that's not the first model year because manufacturers work out bugs in cars as the year progresses.

faithin9ja: [/b]
Like Buhari cancelling the Jakande's Lagos Mass transit train scheme and paying the consultants almost as much as the entire contract for cancelling the contract. (not exact figures, but an illustration, the project was to cost $1billion, because Buhari's government cancelled we paid in penalties $800million and nothing to show)

I said "policy makers that understand the intricacies/nuances of the manufacturing sector and how it ties into the global economy." I don't know anything about the canceled mass transit but ordinarily, in a democratic setting, Buhari shouldn't be able to just cancel a project by a state government as long as the Federal character is not involved. Then again, Buhari was an Army General when he ruled.

What we need is for us to have a national policy that will stand the test of different administrations that will say something like; tariffs on a “completely assembled” mobile phone will be increased 200% in 1 year. This will cause manufacturers and entrepreneurs to import only preassembled phones that can be assembled in Nigeria, thereby creating more local skilled jobs. Same can be done for computers and other finished products that can easily be assembled locally.

The problem we have is our inability to sustain policies past a single administration. Why would a business invest millions of dollars that will take decades to recoup if they know that our policy will probably change when the next administration comes in? A smart businessman will just wait out the current administration and fund the next one coming in.

midpoint: thanks for all for your wonderful inputs. is there a way i can test this shocks/struts myself to confirm before i go to a mechanic?

Push down real hard on the side of the hood right above the tires and the car should stop bouncing when you let go after 1 or 2 bounces if your strut is still good.

Pukkah:

I agree with this. Check out all the developed countries and you'll see that some things are common to almost all of them. Majority, if not all, of them have succeeded because of emphasis on manufacturing and protection of their economies. However, having become developed, these same countries have hypocritically turned round to preach 'free market' and emphasis on the 'service industries' to the developing countries. It is a classic case of 'do as I say and not as I did'.

Britain adopted free trade in the 1860s, when its industrial dominance was absolute. Before then, she jealously protected her economy. And Britain was not alone in this. Virtually all of today's rich countries used protectionism and subsidies to promote their young industries.

Nigeria may never become developed except we take some 'unpopular' steps and roll our sleeves to seriously and single-mindedly tackle the rot of infrastructure in order to empower local manufacturing. However, Nigeria needs a very strong leader to be able to do this in the present global stage. We need leaders that will be ready to create unique and home-grown economic, social and political solutions in order to lift Nigerians out of poverty.

Free trade, or free market policies, have rarely, if ever, worked for developing countries. We must take our destiny in our hands. Do we have leaders who have the will, passion, and courage to achieve this?

*Edit - my agreement with the OP is not to the extent of isolationism.

In the real world, people sign contracts/agreements that are beneficial to them. Problem arises when a party to the agreement is ill-equipped to understand the real implication of the contract except for the superficial promises.

The developed countries are looking out for their own interest when they push all these policies. It is the job of Nigerian leaders to know and pursue the policies that they can mutually benefit from.

You are right by stating that we cannot have a net benefit gain when free market policies are just implemented blindly. As big as China is today, even their market is not completely open!

What we need are policy makers that understand the intricacies/nuances of the manufacturing sector and how it ties into the global economy.

Isolationism only seems like a good idea at first blush! You claim that we have everything that we need to survive but that’s hardly the case. It is true that we have raw materials but raw materials do not equate to finished products. If we become isolated, can you explain where we would get the following?

1. Cars for transportation
2. Trucks/trailers for raw material haulage (please do not use Innoson as an example because ~98% of the parts that goes into their trucks are imported from Asia). Once you completely shut your borders, Innoson will have to manufacture every single car part from scratch, which is currently impossible.
3. Heavy machinery and their spare parts for the mines, oil rigs, raw material excavation etc
4. Machinery for production
5. Equipment and parts needed in the power sector
6. Equipment and parts needed in the communication sector
7. Weapons for law enforcement
8. Equipment for law enforcement
9. Food when there’s shortage due to weather
10. Medicines
11. Medical equipments

Whether you want to believe it or not, we have access to all the things listed above because we don’t live in a closed society! China might be the second largest economy today but their level of industrialization will probably rank lower because of their brief foray of being isolated. Moreover, all the advancement and development now evidenced in China only happened when they opened their country to the outside world.

I think the better strategy will be to systematically close our boarders by way of tariffs to products that we can manufacture locally. We really have no choice in today's global society but that's not to say that we should open our borders blindly to every Tom & Harry!

Springs and shock absorber (struts) are the main parts of your suspension that control ride quality. The spring is responsible for the car not hitting the ground when the tire enters a pothole. The shock absorber tries to return the car back to its original height as soon as possible by dissipating the kinetic energy in the spring through heat.

If after an initial bounce, your car keeps bouncing then you need new shocks (struts).

cap28:

Err no - i was just taking the piss out of your self hatred and your desperate need to be seen as a mainstream (white) american by changing your african name to a watered down version of the real thing - evidence of self hatred and low self esteem.

Your thinking is reductionist - you know why? because life to you is all about the basics - getting a good job, buying a second hand mercedes or bmw, being allowed to live next door to whitey and deluding yourself that because of that you are now equal to a white man.

this is why i asked you what you would have done if the black american man hadnt fought white supremacy to make all of that possible for you but like the coward you are you dodged the question.


people like you make me wanna hurl .

All you need is a little job and the ability to eat two square meals a day and hey presto ! you are now a king - sorry to break it to you- other races think you are a joke!


COWARD - DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELEIVE IN OR DO YOU PREFER OTHERS TO DO THAT FOR YOU?

Oponu, I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you but do you really think that Wallie or Wally sounds white? Nigerians in Nigeria don’t go by Wally, Wallie or Willy? Wallie has been my alias since high school days, ode!

You think my life is all about the basics? I’m a living and breathing proof that a black person can make it without any compromises if you work hard and stay focused. Used BMWs and Mercedes? Where they do that at? lol

Dude, you’re a peon and will continue to be if you don’t change your mindset! It is weak people like you that go through life blaming everybody else but themselves for their failures. In life, you will always have people that cannot stand you for whatever reason and they will come in all shades including white and black. Even in Nigeria, there’s hatred among people of the same tribe not to talk of different tribes. Man up, wussy!

With regards to your question about Black Americans fighting White supremacists, I say good for those who fought recognizing that they have equal rights. What does that have to do with me? I know I have equal rights as Caucasians and I do walk around like my poop don’t stink! I really do.

Crap28 the frustrated, the difference between you and me is that I don’t get bullied, I do the bullying and anybody can get it. ANYBODY.

Just take it easy Crap the frustrated, for people like you end up jumping off a bridge or dying of high blood pressure!

morpheus24:

Signs of mental illness:

Manic......restless individual who is always warning people of some impending danger that is about to take place( usually far fetched ideas)

Agitated... gets irritated easily....believes people do not take him or his ideas seriously

Paranoid.....Obssessed with the CIA and government activities. Always thinks people are watching or talking about him (usually co-workers)

Epiphany.....One who believes his thought processess are greater than that of others or he has discovered some truth that is unbeknownst or incomprehensible by others.

Hey Cap... you not so far away off

Not far off? He's all of the above!

Cap the manic, agitated, paranoid and epiphany-prone psychopath! The guy is beyond redemption!

cap28:

says chicken george aka sambo extraordinaire -

wallie or is that wale? - look in the mirror:

wallie - dont forget that couragous black american men fought the white supremacist system in order to allow gutless cowards like you to be where you are today in america:

can you imagine what america would have been like for house negroes like you if their had been no courageous black american men?

It took you that long to figure out that Wallie = Wale?

I seriously don't understand why you're taking Panadol for another man's headache! Wetin consign you with anything America? As far as I know, you’re a frustrated Nigerian that lives in UK that can't find a job to match his so-called legal skill. Abi US don deny you visa?

I’m pretty sure that you must be on the no-fly list by now!

logica: A car rolling over multiple times; metal scraping against the tarmac can cause sparks. And I expect she was rolling with a full tank as most women do.

I guess that's why there needs to be an investigation because contrary to what most people believe, it is actually somewhat rare for a late model vehicle to burst into flames after an accident.

Some of the conspiracy theorists on NL are just a whisker away from Aro or is it Yaba left?

Sisi_Kill:

Pleas where does it say the car is brand new?

Would it have been more accurate to say “late model”? OK. A late model MB GL.

I said brand new because the SUV is new enough to have all the latest safety devices available to other cars, especially when you consider the fact that you’re talking about a luxury SUV. By the way, the oldest the GL could have been is 2007 because that’s when they started selling it.

The safety device I alluded to in my prior post is called Battery Safety Terminal (BST). It uses pyrotechnic charge to separate the high amperage starter circuit from the battery when an air bag deploys.

Sad! Weird how the Mercedes Benz GL burst into flames! If that were my family, I'll be suing MB to explain how a brand new car could burst into flames after an accident.

With most high end cars, when you get into a collision, there are explosive devices that automatically cut power to the battery to prevent something like this from happening. Even if the fuel tank had ruptured and fuel was leaking, you still need to have an ignition source for the explosion to occur! Where did the spark come from? Did the device fail?

AjanleKoko:
What does this mean? Language or communication barrier?

Both. In Nigeria, we typically pronounce every single letter in a word's syllable and there are times that we even lump the wrong adjacent letters together to form a syllable, which results in some ambiguity or confusion when heard. People will need to pay close attention to one's words and context before they can determine what was said, which is why the repetition is necessary.

candylips:

some people will claim to have 5 yrs experience but what they actually have is 5 1 yr experiences.

Not sure I understand your point. 5 different jobs with each job having a 1 year duration = 5 years of experience.

The OP's post and topic are asking two different questions. Most answered the question in the post and not one asked by the topic.

Here's my attempt to answer the question posed by the topic:

1. Living abroad is very hard initially for most people because they lack the support structure needed that they can easily find in Nigeria.

2. The society is very structured and revolves around time. Timing is everything!

3. The society teaches/forces you to be self reliant; so much so that you can tell anybody off.

4. Those that partied before putting in work will continue to struggle for a great while. You “earn your keep”! There’s no free lunch.

5. By Nigerian standards, you become cold after a while.

6. If you do not adapt to your environment you will most likely not fit in and end up being lonely.

7. Not having your papers make things twice as hard.

8. For the first few years, be prepared to always repeat what you say.

Electrical Engineers have better future prospect, hands down! With Electrical Engineering, you can even become a system engineer. Only go for system engineering if you're already in the field because their curriculum is more geared towards requirements matrix and not hardcore engineering subjects.

Most system engineers will typically have a BS in Electrical Engineering and a MS in System Engineering.

If you’re a white-collar worker meeting a client - formal attire unless history dictates otherwise.

If you’re a white-collar worker going to work – business casual (slacks and shirt with a collar, no jeans, sneakers or t-shirts).

If you’re a blue-collar worker meeting a client – look presentable.

If you’re blue-collar worker going to work – dress comfortably.

If you write your own checks – you can show up in your boxers.

If you want me to trust you with my money – you better show up in your birthday suit, act professionally and look responsible!

LOL at all the "pots" calling "kettles" black! The very least you can do when correcting someone else’s mistake is to make damn sure that you're not committing the same egregious offense!

LOL @ Landmark’s senior manager hiring an English teacher for the workers. Sounds like the type of story someone would make up. I would feel seriously insulted if I worked in your company.

With regards to the original post, graduates are having problems expressing themselves because (1) they lack practice, (2) they had sub-standard teachers, (3) they don’t know grammar or punctuation rules, (4) bad educational foundation, and (5) English is hard.

The easiest way out for them at this stage with written English is to learn the rules. Being fluent in conversational English and speaking grammatically correct English are almost mutually exclusive. You can do one without the other.

Foreigners who studied the rules of English language can learn to speak grammatically correct English but tend to choose their words instead of the words just flowing like diarrhea! Asians are notorious for this.

The only way your conversational English won’t sound forced or “ugly” is through constant practicing.

With language in general, it is either “you use it or lose it!”

Now, who wan teach me correct pidgin?

Short answer is no. The danger posed by rays depends on the ray's wavelength and frequency. The higher a ray's frequency and the shorter its wavelength, the more dangerous it is. Essentially, a ray will be dangerous to humans if it can penetrate a human’s living tissue and interact with molecules therein.