₦airaland Forum

Why are Nigerians fascinated with Blackberry? Is it BBM? Are Android and iPhones not popular?

Also, I find it puzzling that when I travel to Nigeria, girls that I’m well acquainted with choose to reply my Yoruba (mixed with English) with straight English! I guess they didn’t realize that speaking the native language makes one feel at home especially for people that speaks English 99% of the time.

morpheus24:
Then you should have said Oligopoly in the first place to clarify on your point.

Price ceilings in complex global marketing systems, influenced by numerous external factors that dictate supply and demand, is not sustainable simply because Mr. President wants to pose for us. Not much sound economical reasoning.

In the short run artificially pegging these prices to pacify the massess will result in larger increases in future prices stemming from speculative predictions of where the price of cement is of course likely to head

If successful I suggest those who want to build better stack wharehouses of cement while the price is down cause its going to be a short ride baby hehehehehe!

I did say “oligopolies” in passing a few posts ago but I focused on the word “monopoly” because people will understand my point better without me having to go into a diatribe.

You are right about the price ceiling which is why the president needs knowledgeable people on his team. A president/leader is only as smart as his advisors.

Edit------ ^^^^^+1

kalokalo:
People talking about monopoly in Nigeria's cement industry are ignorant. Where is the monoply when cement makers in Nigeria are Lafarge Wapco, Ashaka, Unicem, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, Dangote and rebaggers are Ibeto, Flour Mills, Eagle Cement and BUA cement. So where is the monopoly? How can an industry with 9 players be a monopoly?

What stops anyone from setting their own cement plant and selling at N500 so as to crash prices? We want to travel all the way to china to import dust when the raw materials to make that dust are abundant in our own backyard.

The people talking about monopoly are not any more ignorant than you. I was one of those talking about monopoly but I should have been a lot clearer that I was generally referring to anti-competitive behaviors, and more specifically to “collusion.”

In this instance, you have an oligopoly that consists of less than a dozen companies, that appears to price fix for their mutual benefit. It doesn’t matter it the oligopoly includes a thousand companies. What matters is that the decision of a few significantly affects the market.

The danger of collusion is that increasing pricing does not result in loss of sales due to lack of alternative (licensing restriction).

Congrats! You have a solid business model and there's still quite a lot of money out there to be won with your biz plan! Now is the right time to milk it! Goodluck!

Which is better? It depends!

It is very hard to generalize but if you must do, with all things being equal, a 4 cylinder engine will consume less fuel and will be less complicated. Some manufacturers simply lump out 2 cylinders to make a lower cylinder equivalent. This is true with some BMW models (E60 M5 V10 and E9X M3 V8).

I think you should focus on a particular Make then you can decide. For example, Audi’s 2.0T is more developed and offer you more “everything” per liter than the discontinued 3.0 V engine. With BMW, the Inline 6 engines are probably better than the old 4 cylinder engines but BMW now has a great 2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo that will replace most inline 6s. BMW’s inline 6 is actually their bread-and-butter until the arrival of the new 4 cylinder because they use it across every model (X5, X3, 528, 530, 330, 325, 328, 128) and the engine is known for its balance/smoothness.

Once you decide on a particular Make, the next thing to consider is the weight of the car. A very heavy car like 5 series, E class, S class, 7 Series, mid-sized SUV will struggle with a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine because of low torque. A turbo 4 cylinder might offer enough torque to move a huge car but it will have a very weak top end. For example, it will take forever to accelerate over 100 MPH which is needed on US highways. Imagine trying to overtake a trailer traveling at 80 mph, you step on your gas and it takes eternity for it to respond:-) In the US, luxury cars can never sell with a 4 cylinder engine (even 6 cylinders won’t sell very well), which is one of the reasons Acura’s top of the line RL failed. But things are starting to change with the introduction of turbocharged 6 cylinder engines.

The last thing to decide on is what you want out of your car. Do you just want to get to your destination or do you car about the “feel” of your engine response?

Bottom line is that not all V6s are created equal and the same is true for 4 cylinders especially if it is turbocharged.

So, which is better? It depends on your need, the Make of the vehicle and its weight.

Eziachi:
What next? Telling makers of his fleet of jets its too costly.
You can't tell a private person with his own investment, how much he should sell his product, unless you build your own factory and start crashing the price yourself.

If a private company is a monopoly, the government can regulate how the company deals with other companies. For example, in the US, if Microsoft decides to buy their competitor, Apple, the government will most likely say no.

I don’t know how familiar you are with what’s going on the US, but about a month ago, AT&T decided to buy T-mobile for $39 billion in cash and stocks and the government might block the merger.

Here’s an article related to what I said http://blogs.forbes.com/elizabethwoyke/2011/03/28/sprint-asks-government-to-block-attt-mobile-transaction/

What people don’t understand is that free market principles work in advanced economies because of antitrust policing by the government. In the US, we have a law called Sherman Act that makes it a felony, for a company that has monopoly in a market by willfully acquiring power through means other than superior product, to create an agreement that inhibits competition.

Even though I have zero evidence to back up what I’m about to say, I think the cement manufacturers are colluding (directly or indirectly) to price-fix. Why compete to reduce price, which will reduce your profit margin when you can all agree raise price to earn more profit?

The problem is that Nigeria is not advanced enough to enforce antitrust laws even if it is in the books.

I think that the government is on the right track by stepping in.

To people questioning whether Nigeria is a capitalist economy, Nigeria sure is but the cement industry is not a “free market.” In other words, new market entrants are not allowed to come in because the government grants exclusive rights to produce/import cement to the selected 5 companies (or however many they are).

Whenever there’s a restriction on new market entrants due to nature of the business, the government has no choice but to create some kind of regulation to govern the oligarchy. In a free market, business people will be allowed to import/produce cement if they have the money to fund such a venture.

Thanks guys!

@AJ
You just disappear! Abi you don get political appointment?

Here are the top 15 countries importing oil into the US,

Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country Feb-11 Jan-11 YTD 2011 Feb-10 YTD 2010
CANADA 2,193 2,149 2,170 1,897 1,889
SAUDI ARABIA 1,114 1,099 1,106 881 922
MEXICO 998 1,216 1,112 996 1,015
NIGERIA 948 968 958 896 948
VENEZUELA 878 951 916 913 868
ANGOLA 357 294 323 312 289
IRAQ 263 470 372 540 522
ECUADOR 242 178 209 145 182
BRAZIL 175 259 219 192 233
COLOMBIA 175 303 242 371 330
ALGERIA 138 378 264 282 306
KUWAIT 118 147 133 228 143
RUSSIA 97 105 101 214 174
EQUATORIAL GUINEA 52 32 41 0 28
CHAD 51 55 53 0 24
   
Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country Feb-11 Jan-11 YTD 2011 Feb-10 YTD 2010
CANADA 2,831 2,826 2,829 2,490 2,544
SAUDI ARABIA 1,114 1,102 1,108 898 932
MEXICO 1,104 1,366 1,242 1,134 1,132
VENEZUELA 989 1,030 1,011 1,009 957
NIGERIA 978 1,007 993 932 975
RUSSIA 437 531 486 423 444
ALGERIA 394 565 484 461 480
ANGOLA 370 316 342 326 302
IRAQ 263 470 372 540 522
ECUADOR 242 178 209 152 185
COLOMBIA 211 332 275 386 353
VIRGIN ISLANDS 182 276 232 187 251
BRAZIL 177 274 228 226 293
NETHERLANDS 129 101 114 126 121
KUWAIT 118 147 133 228 149

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

Thanks! Ok, will the figures below get you a relatively stable workforce?

Engineer (1 year) - 45K per month
Engineer (2 years) – 56k per month
Engineer (3 year) – 70k per month
Engineer (4 years) – 88k per month
Engineer (5 years) – 120k per month

What is the tax rate and it seems the employer withholds it?

On topic…
Work is fine but trying to shift my base back home depending on how the Power Sector deregulation pans out. Time will tell…


I cross-posted the request below with the Business Section.

I’m trying to get a better handle on the salary structure in Nigeria (major cities). Can anyone help with the salary range for the following professions?

Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 0-2 years of experience)
Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 3-4 years of experience)

Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)
Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)

Sales Person (college graduate)
Secretary (college graduate)

Driver
Messenger

Also, do employers withhold taxes from employees? Any other information on taxes, like tax rate, sales tax, VAT, will be helpful.

Thanks!

I’m trying to get a better handle on the salary structure in Nigeria (major cities). Can anyone help with the salary range for the following?

Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 0-2 years of experience)
Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 3-4 years of experience)

Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)
Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)

Thanks!

Hello all,

I’m trying to get a better handle on the salary structure in Nigeria (major cities). Can anyone help with the salary range for the following professions?

Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 0-2 years of experience)
Electrical engineer (4-year degree with 3-4 years of experience)

Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)
Technician (2 or 4 year degree in electronics)

Sales Person (college graduate)
Secretary (college graduate)

Driver
Messenger

Also, do employers withhold taxes from employees? Any other information on taxes, like tax rate, sales tax, VAT, will be helpful.

Thanks!

I don’t know how many of you have actually being through a formal debate but preparation is one of the main factors of being successful. Seeing the questions before hand allows any slightly competent person to craft perfect responses.

I think the opposition should demand that the questions be made available to all the candidates so as to put them on equal footing or that they should each submit a couple of questions just before the debate that questions will be drawn from. This way, nobody can be accused of cheating!

I don’t know how many of you have actually being through a formal debate but preparation is one of the main factors of being successful. Seeing the questions before hand allows any slightly competent person to craft perfect responses.

I think the opposition should demand that the questions be made available to all the candidates so as to put them on equal footing or that they should each submit a couple of questions just before the debate that questions will be drawn from. This way, nobody can be accused of cheating!

1. Bloomberg
2. Amazon
3. Google Voice
4. Facebook
5. mBox
6. Bank of America
7. WeatherBug
8. Skype
9. Currency
10. Pandora

What 3G SIM card can one use/buy in Nigeria that also allows for internet access? I only need one for a week so I won’t be interested in a monthly plan. I will be using an iPhone if it makes a difference.

Mr. Akeem Ajimotokan advertised his car for sale on Cars.com for $46,000 but the would be buyer decided to rob him, stabbing him several times before breaking his neck and stuffing him in the trunk of the for sale car.

However, nemesis caught up with the suspect, a former convict, and was killed in a shootout with officers on a fugitive task force in Florida while on the run.

Continue reading

gilgee:
All the tribalistic nonsense I have been reading on this forum proves beyond every reasonable doubt that:

a. Nigeria is a century behind
b. an average Nigerian is a tribalist
c. 80% of the current generation of Nigerians are in dire need of psychological therapy.
d. The average Nigerian of this generation does not posses the practical ability to impart the desired change to the Nigerian political system ( Tribalism is the father of Nepotism, which is a major enemy of development).

Why not let the past be past? Is it so hard to forge ahead? Are we not tired already? Is this how to take Nigeria to greater heights? This kind of mentality only breeds and grooms intense hatred, which will to a great length mar the anticipated development and prosperity of Nigeria.

People, get out of the box of tribalism! Start thinking us ( Entire nation). A continued romance of tribalism would instill more hatred in our minds and help destroy our already f.ucked up country more.

God help this generation.

+1000

I must be naïve or out-of-touch not to know that intense hatred and tribalistic views existed between the Yorubas and the Ibos. We are where we are; why can’t we just forge a better way forward, together, for our future generations?

Can’t speak specifically to the question in the OP but here is my general thought about the current unemployment in the US and Nigeria.

Imagine borrowing money to go to a private school spending upwards of $130k to obtain a BSc and MBA, only not to find a job when you graduate. Your loan then gets deferred while the interest accrues, only for your education to become stale due to not being employed in your field then you’re caught in a catch-22.

The worst part is that student loans cannot be written off even when you file for bankruptcy. The principal plus accruing interest will forever hunt you until fully paid. Well, this is what some people are facing here in the US.

Creating new jobs to absorb the unemployed is even harder due to needing completely new high-skill industries. Gone are the low-skill manufacturing jobs of yesterday that provided an industry that employed millions of people both directly and indirectly.

In Nigeria, the situation is a little different and the solution somewhat easier. Nigerians don’t typically borrow money to go to college and creating a low-skill manufacturing job is easier. We don’t even have to re-invent the wheel. All we need to do is copy whatever low-skill manufacturing jobs that are being shipped to East Asia. The only catch is that the government will need to do, at least, the following:

1. Make the business environment more conducive by making it easier to transfer and police intellectual property. Companies are more likely to transfer knowledge if they know that their contracts will be enforced and the judicial system will be impartial.
2. Monetary policies - one needs to b able to move a reasonable amount of money in and out of Nigeria easily at will.
3. Taxes – free tax zones are already being implemented.
4. Stability – having to worry about your awarded contract being thrown out without recourse when the government change erodes confidence. Why would I invest millions/billions of dollars only for it to be at risk when the govt changes?
5. Financing – icing on the cake.

I was initially going to write a few paragraphs blaming the girl but I think she’s really blameless as she lives in a society where 17k cannot provide her the basic amenities. Why bring a kid into this world to suffer? Although, I wonder what she brings to the table!

Luckily for the guy in the OP, he’s a guy and can still have kids well into his 50s. I think he should wait until he can provide the basic amenities for his family as the last thing you want when things are going bad is to see your kids suffer.

Also, to most people saying that the guy is a graduate, is going to school the “be-all end-all”? Does having an education guarantee that you will become rich or successful in life – even in the US? All education does is to give you a fighting chance of being ok. If you’re lucky, with your education that is also possessed by millions of others, you can rule the world but nothing is guaranteed.

If I were the guy, I would dust my shoes and use the rejection as fuel for my desire to succeed; if not for anything, to make her regret her decision. Nothing like your ex seeing you do better than when she/he was with you:-)

At times, my work could be so boring and stressful! Imagine having to write a 30 page paper describing something as simple as a freaking wheel! There’s only so much one can say and yet, I’m being told to beef it up. Even though we don’t charge the client per page, there seems to be an unwritten rule in my firm that your patent application has to be 40+ pages. Well, the 30 pages will just have to be enough…

Although it seems counter intuitive, the simplest inventions are usually the hardest to write about. We’re just 5 weeks into a new year and I need a vacation already!

Having Hepatitis B will definitely make your insurance premium go up when it comes time for renewal but the effect will be minimal in a large company because the increment will be averaged with healthy people. Insurance premium for anybody with a chronic disease will always be higher than a healthy person, all else being equal.

Health insurance is determined by age (older pays more), sex (women pays more), health history, occupation, and personal habits (weight gain, smoking etc).

I’m amazed that companies are requiring and disqualifying people based on results of generic medical tests instead of a doctor’s opinion as to whether or not you’re fit for the job. This is serious grounds for discrimination law suit in the US.

@Gannzter

Understood. That's why I said "your JD won’t be recognized to practice law in Nigeria". Just like you said, one will be required to take Bar 1 & 2. However, I did not know that internship is compulsory. Thanks!

I see that the OP was written in 2006 and you seem to be still seeking information several years later. Have you been practicing in NJ all along and if so, what type of law? What is your first degree or other degree(s) in? I ask because it might make for a better platform when advertising your skills.

I practice patent law in the DC area. But as to your original question, your JD won’t be recognized to practice law in Nigeria. However, if you’ve acquired considerable experience in US corporate law, business law, and/or taxation a law firm or corporation might hire you to become an expert on American law.

naijacutee:
,

Do you know if it is possible to apply for a valid patent in a country where conditions are more favourable than in Nigeria?

Sure. You can apply for a patent in the country of your choice. Most people tend to apply in the US, followed by Europe (Germany), and then Asia. You essentially apply to where you think your strongest market will be.

An idea that I'm playing with will be to start a company that invests in other people's inventions; especially, inventors from Africa. The company will do all the work that is required and take a percentage of profits realized from the invention. But a major issue to overcome will be people’s perception that you’re out to cheat them. Most people will also think that you can patent an idea without offering exact details as to how to make the idea.

@okaycee

Very good question! Nigeria is in need of urgent patent reform. Nigeria, up until now, has been able to get away with subpar patent framework even though Nigeria is a signatory to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade Organization (WTO), Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). These bodies and/or agreement allow member States assert and protect intellectual property rights of businesses in their country. But I guess since Nigeria is not a developed country, nobody really cares about what happens there – although, that’s no longer true, as the telecom sector will have innovations that will need to be protected. In the oil sector, the westerners just keep their technology amongst themselves or use some elaborate license-type contract to protect it.

Until real reform happens, an inventor/entrepreneur that cannot hire a foreign attorney can try to capitalize on their invention by being the first to market. Hopefully, before your invention gets copied, you would have recouped your investments. Obviously, the higher the entry barrier, the longer it will take for an entrant into the market. The downside to this approach is that it discourages innovation and R&D because nobody in their right mind will spend money to seek a solution that’s not already in existence if the solution can be readily copied.

I need to find other Nigerian Patent Attorneys or practitioners but I would have a better chance of finding a needle in a haystack!

Your idea sounds very noble but “small money” or cheap cannot be used in the same sentence with “patents.” 

There’s a patenting system in place in Nigeria; however, they only check for formality and not substance due to lack of subject matter experts. That means that an utility patent issued in Nigeria is not worth the paper it was written on as it can’t stand up to any rational scrutiny (where are you even going to get the judge and lawyers to litigate the case?). Imagine trying to get a lawyer that ran away from sciences to start explaining why your invention, a computing processor, is essentially the same or different from Intel Pentium 4.

One would need to hire a foreign attorney or law firm to prosecute the patent. In the US and most western countries, patent attorneys need to have a technical degree in addition to a law degree. It is not unusual to see patent attorneys with Phds especially those that prosecute arts related to chemistry and biology. As you would have guessed, someone has to pay for all that education and exclusivity.

To file a patent will initially cost you about $450 in fees to the govt and an additional $2k-$3k in fees for the attorney writing the patent application. Once written and submitted, the govt will usually reject it saying the idea is not novel because someone invented something similar, which means that the attorney has to respond with reasons why your invention is novel and worthy of a patent.  The attorney will usually charge you $1k-$2k for responding on your behalf. The process of rejecting and responding will continue until you convince the govt of your invention and each time the attorney responds, the attorney charges you. Also, after the second rejection, you will have to pay the govt another $405 (Request for Continuing Examination), before you can continue. I have personally worked on a case that is going through its 6th rejection.

Once your patent has been deemed worthy and issued to you, you will have to pay fees to the govt at regular intervals for maintaining your patent.
3.5 years after issue - $980
7.5 years after issue - $2,480
11.5 years after issue - $4,110

As you can see, there’s nothing cheap about a patent and will usually cost $10k-$20k for the life of the patent (20 years).

naijacutee:
More inventions I've toyed around with in my mind :-

Food :-

- I was wondering how feasible it would be to make 'instant' soups (Egusi/Oha/Ogbono/Peppersoup etc) which tastes exactly like the 'non-instant' ones. Who would buy it? Working mums, Bachelors, students at Uni etc. The idea is to prepare soup ingredients up to certain different stages, preserve them at these stages and then vacuum package them to lock in the flavour and nutrients until hot water is added. To cook, just add hot water and meat. As soups are part of our staple diet, this would make life a lot easier for people and this would be cheaper than cooking a N3,500 pot of soup for a big family every 2 days. Most importantly, you would be able to store these for weeks and have them taste fresh everytime you 'cook' soup in 2 minutes 

This is usually done by companies specializing in food processing, food engineering, packaging, food chemistry etc. It is more of a process but the process has to be kept secret. There’s a major untapped market in this arena especially with seasonal foods and food with a very short shelve life but it is going to require substantial investments in research. Nigeria will have no choice but to head in this direction in the future because there’ll be a lot of mouths to feed and the “trailers from the north” can only do so much.

naijacutee:
- A machine for washing 'Onubu' (bitterleaf). It takes AGES to was Onubu leaves, and sometimes I wonder who is burdened with this task in busy restaurants. How about inventing a dynamo-powered device with a small tank and a funnel to drip-feed the water into the leaves below. So to wash the leaves, you just wind the handle and put water in the tank. .  . and the dynamo uses a rotor to churn the leaves and squeeze out the bitterness

You definitely can have an invention here. Do you have drawings? Don’t worry, I do this for a living

@naijacutee
I wonder what you do for a living as you definitely have the mindset of an inventor! If you think of a really great idea, turn it into money before “publishing” it.

@Topic
Traffic monitoring: it is actually hard for the “wrong” company to actually pull off a viable traffic monitoring system. There are a few ways you can do it:
1. Cellphone companies have access to each cellphone and can determine how fast the relative position of the cellphone is changing. To make the data more accurate, with phone equipped with GPS, they can poll the phone at intervals for its location (GPS coordinates). The valid coordinates are the ones that correspond to road locations.
2. You can install traffic cameras at strategic locations through out the city and visually determine the flow rate of traffic.
3. You can employ drivers to drive through roadways or you can have callers update highways in your database (website).
4. Sensors can be embedded at major intersections to determine the rate at which a vehicle passes over the sensor (Newton’s law – anybody).
5. The ultimate solution will be to employ all that is listed.


Somebody said something about using a car’s brain box (ECU). Well, that will almost never be a viable solution because (1) the ECU code on every different type of vehicle on most model year will have to be cracked, (2) the memory won’t be big enough and I doubt the ECU has enough spare processing power, (3) the car will need a transmitter and receiver to communicate, (4) what frequency spectrum will be used, (5) most people would not let any company update their ECU, (6) you could “brick” the ECU etc

As the OP said, there’s a lot of money to be made on the right invention. But do keep in mind that inventions are not ideas but actual concrete information that can enable a competent person (one skilled in the art) to practice the invention. On the other hand, you will be surprised by what is patentable!

AjanleKoko:
…
Slightly off topic, I think I feel a mid-life crisis coming on. Funny I'm not even 40 yet, but I feel so jaded with everything. I just wonder, in this high-performance lifestyle of the 21st century, if you do manage to achieve everything early, what's left for you to do at the end of your career? What do you guys think?

What’s left to do? Quite a lot! You could (1) stray out of your comfort zone, (2) start a NGO to tackle whatever social ills you desire, (3) buy a nice 2-seater sport car, or (4) run for office. Come to think of it, I actually think the combination of 1-3 will cure your jadedness.

Also, what do you mean by “end of your career”? You never reach CEO for your company, abi? That means upward mobility is still possible:-)

To the person who spoke about banks loaning you money for a franchise, you might as well forget it because the bar is extremely high. You have a better shot of buying someone else’s franchise and then having the person finance the balance.

Subway, you need
Net worth $30k - $90k
Cash liquidity $80k - $310k

Quiznos
Net worth $125k
Cash $60k

McDonald
Cash $500k