₦airaland Forum

The position of CEO and other high ranking offices immediately equates to high bonuses. The U.K particularly has seen itself entrenched in the American 'Kool Aid' of paying astronomically for officers in those exalted positions with the Average Joe earning far far less or what is considered the basic survival wage. Many other countries have not been quick to adopt this practice which sometimes involves paying sign on fees.

A typical mercenary CEO in the U.S has a pay structure that goes as thus: Sign on fee + Annual salary + bonus sharing. These figures sometimes run into several millions.

Take for instance Ana Patricia Botín, the U.K CEO of Satander bank raking home 4.1million pounds in 2011 despite the bank profits plunging 40%.

Another example, is Nokia C.E.O Stephen Elop who was signed on from Microsoft in 2010 with a 6 million dollars compensation with additional 1.4million dollars annually. Since then he has been unable to correct the dwindling fortunes of the company as it lost is market lead to Samsung earlier on in 2012.

Then comes Barclays CEO Robert Diamond who has not denied his banks involvement in the LIBOR scandal. Diamond received 63With 63million pounds to his name in 2010 and an annual 6 million pounds announced in 2011 for 2012.

With rising unemployment and reduced wages of many Americans and Brits alike, should there be a serious reconsideration of what CEOs should take home annually?

Would you suggest the U.S adopt the Nordic style of paying wages where the wage difference between the highest earning office and the lowest is kept to the barest minimum hence not provoking public anger even when the economy is slowing down?

Please share your thoughts

violent: People are motivated by different factors. I think for me, I'm a bit more motivated by money than the average bloke and naturally, i have always tend to hold on to the belief that more money is better than less. For one, it makes my life easier.Perhaps it isn't the same for you. Then i see why you must be so frustrated to find yourself in an industry that keeps doling out quids in a way that probably makes your stomach churn.

There's an easy solution to this, however, why not apply for jobs at state primary schools? Trust me when i say you won't have to worry for a bit about being overpaid, plus you get the added benefit of making other people's lives better like you've always wanted.

This case was the most challenging i have come across on the career section. I have not seen anyone working in O & G in naija and is so much driven by Masters in Developmental Studies. I needed to tread softly on the topic with my comments earlier.

I personally think with a high salary, there are a lots of ways one can contribute to humanity without pursuing a developmental degree.

antitpiah: do or did? I doubt you went to college.

Lol, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. It is just that we are seeing more first class on nairaland these days. Or are the 1% of them AJ talked about all on Nairaland?

Well i don't think you will have problems with any decision you make. You have a profile that can always stand you in good stead. Good luck

Well my initial post was merely trying to bring more out of you if you. To get a sound advise, you will need to say more about what qualification you already have and what you are doing presently at your place of work. Is your job related to the studies? Is it related to the fellowship?

Having a good grasp of your background will help with a more informed opinion from other posters.

AjanleKoko: You are also using the word 'entitled'.
On the subject of hip-hop, what about the creators of hip-hop, African Americans? Were they getting any 'entitlements'?

Ha! Permit me. They had things going for them one way or the other. You can't compare them to the hopeless situation some Nigerians find themselves.

I will advice you to stick with your job especially when you earn well. Times are hard.

Again, if you think you have 15-20 years experience already and want to go for the masters, then you can give it a shot. But with 20 years experience, i would rather thread softly to retirement

No, i never said M.I and Naeto C are not passionate. I only made reference to the comment by Modenine. Hip hop and Rap.

Coming back to the point of breaking even, at some point i believe we need to commend Nigerians to an extent. Some of these dudes are doing what they love, but don't have any financial back up. Like my friend at Yabatech who came joint top in my class always said no body is forcing him to go to school as he was just doing it for himself. Father doesn't care and mum is dead.

Last week in France, there was tension in the circuit of their arts practitioners whose job are seasonal. Do you know that when these people are not having performances, they are entitled to some form of unemployment benefits? The tension i mentioned earlier was a result of the announcement by the govt to cancel these benefits.

Now you see what i mean. Passion is much more easier in the West but the risk are far too great in Nigeria where the majority of the populace is unsecured.

But i should also point out that the trajectory at which we are attending to this issue is swaying from the athletics case because there are many other elements involved in the rap/hiphop race than the athletics.

AjanleKoko: Interesting discourse.
The key is not to give up when you fail, the key is to keep trying.
I think, in our part of the world, we are wired to fear failure. It was interesting to watch the women's 100 metres over the weekend, and monitor the comments of Nigerians on FB and Twitter.

Blessing Okagbare won her semi-finals, and she was severally applauded by Nigerians. Then she placed last in the final, and it was condemnation all round.
Something we don't do in Nigeria is encourage. Failure is usually widely condemned, so people are usually afraid to try. Also, I may be judgmental, but I think Nigerians get discouraged easily.

In the Euro 2012 group stages, Spain was busy thrashing the Republic of Ireland. The score was four goals to nil. Just a few minutes to the end of a dreary, punishing encounter for the Irish, their fans started singing their signature song 'The Fields of Athenry'. It was amazing to see all the Spanish fans in the stadium get up and applaud the Irish. Even the Spanish players slowed down a tempo, to take in the beautiful song. You can check it out, it was widely reported in the media.

That's what passion is all about. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you must have a passion for what you are doing. Passion is the only thing that will drive you to compete. Nigerians need to shed this Jeun-jeun mindset, and develop a passion for life. No more whining, no more entitlement mentality. As we have seen at the Olympics, you don't get a medal for just coming. You have to compete, beat the best, and win, to get a medal. Everybody else knows that, why can't we just shut the heck up and get on with it?

Usain Bolt has brought a zing into the world of sprint, simply by demonstrating his heartfelt passion. It was wonderful to watch him just before the race started on Sunday, doing his DJ-mixtape routine. And his signature Bolt posture has transfixed the world. What a great, passionate guy. Plus, he's from a country poorer than Naija, but never allowed that to hold him down. What is holding us down?

Good post AJ,

Following one's passion is great. But away from athletics, do you think the Nigerian society is set up for the risk that inherent in passion? For instance, lets take an example from home. The Nigerian rapper Modenine said 'most Nigerians rap but are not hiphop'. He raps for the sake of protecting hip hop in Nigeria but has little accolade to his name compared to mainstream rappers like Naeto C and M.I. Would you advise him to continue with his passion for real and genuine hip hop or jump on the commercial side of rap? What happens if he can't break even?

violent: I think that, life will always find a way to reward those that continue to win by challenging their own ultimate limits. For such people, winning is a continuous idea. There's always a goal to beat...

I have come to understand that I can't always have all the things i want. Still, not getting the things i want doesn't necessarily make me a loser. Not trying hard enough to be the better version of who i used to be makes me a Loser.

Sometime ago when i started applying for graduate jobs in the UK, i sent out loads of application documents, got invited to more than 7 assessment centers, 4 of which led to final interviews and eventually two offers from which i chose 1. Obviously someone else got those jobs i couldn't. But the mere fact that i have gone further than i used to gives me a winning feel!

You have just nailed the point right there. Nice posts!

violent: Winning makes absolutely no sense if you only benchmark yourself against other people's ability and it shouldn't necessarily be about being the best in a team or a group. Winning for me is being able to challenge and beat what I've previously considered my ultimate limits.


I did come up tops in my undergraduate class, but the driving factor for me then as it is now, wasn't because i thought i was doing better than someone else, but the push to do better than i had previously done...I still try to apply this same principle in every other aspect of my life including when giving presentations, working on projects,applying for new jobs, picking up girls ...!


Usain Bolt isn't just interested in giving an extraordinary performance, he also runs to beat his own best records!!...that for me is the true spirit of a winner and there can be more than one winner in any game.

Good response,

What happens when you are competing for a prize? for instance when you are desperately in need of that job? want that scholarship prize? get that good looking girl?

If improving one's personal best never get him or her any reward/recognition, do you still consider that winning?

AjanleKoko: You, you still have mouth.

AjanleKoko: However, know that you have entered the Great Naija Lottery .

Why don't you stop killing me with laughter here. lwkmd

It was such a tense moment for me. Goose bumps, enthusiasm and that feeling of excitement you get only intermittently spanning long period intervals, say once in a year. For me, that was the moment i have felt overly keen on something so far this year.

The joy of watching a great Olympic race went up a notch when the names of the athletes was called just as the game was about to start. The fun and the swagger at which the sprinters responded to their names capped it all for me. This was a battle of the superstars.

Imnagine with me, Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin, Asafa Powell and others vying for the gold medal. This was anyone's game. The fact that there were no niggling injuries in the build up to this match made it even more interesting. It all made up for a very level playing field.

The highlight of the match for me was not about who came first or how they did it during the actual match up. But the special moment came when fourth placed Tyson Gay was asked by the media about his opinion on the race. He said,

"I gave it my best. I came up short. I tried man, it was the best I could do."

That statement there stroke me. It told me when kings are going head to head against each other, there can only be one winner. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. The most important is to give our best and accept whatever the outcome.

In my usual element, all i could come up with was the analogy of that sprint race to what we experience in our daily lives. The game of competition. We meet it everywhere. At school, job searching, career, friendship etc.

I remember when i started my studies at Yabatech, out of 80+ students in my group, only 22 students was able to attain an upper credit in the first semester which is the elite grade point on that scale. In the second semester the number of upper credit plummeted to 12. At that point the boys were separated from the men and the race got hotter. We all knew what each of these 12 dudes can do academically. Two semesters after, all 12 finished their National Diploma with an upper credit. Only one dude was able to taste distinction for a semester before coming sliding back to upper credit.

This whole tale is not about the 100m dash or my class mates. But let us put this in a career perspective. You are armed with good grades from a reputable institution, maybe a bit of work experience and the necessary confidence to face any interview. At the end of the day, you find yourself competing with 10,000 other students on the various streets of Nigeria with your same class of grade. All of you chasing 10 spots from an organization.

How would you feel if you come up short like Tyson Gay? Would you still think you are the best or amongst the best? or would you simply say well there has to be a winner?

Please share your thoughts my people.

While i haven't been around all evening to fuel my points, i won't want to drag this post on. I want to commend all of you with the wisdom you have applied to tackle this burning issue. I believe this thread is not about us who 'know' at this point but those recent grads and undergrads who will step in the same shoe in the nearest future.

What i can say is that the consensus from this thread has to be outlined for those prospective grads so that they don't go about wandering in the career section looking for answers that are not far fetched.

1. Whatever you are studying at school, try your best to come out tops. First class or something close will make your life a lot easier.

2. Before graduation, start researching how you can adapt your current studies in those fields you want to work. For instance, what a maths grad can do in telecoms.

3. Immediately after graduation before (NYSC), go ahead to make a comprehensive finding on reputable organizations that can offer employment in your area of interest. Make a comprehensive list of those and other companies and keep it for the next stage.

4. 2-3 months leading to NYSC graduation, start networking intensely in and outside your state in Nigeria and apply for as much positions as you can find openings for. Be it newspaper, internet, company websites etc During this time, make sure you have GMAT, GRE and TOEFL prep books by your side so that you can write this exams within a reasonable time frame when you are done with NYSC and hoping to be called for job interviews.

5. Whilst you are expecting to be called for an interview on your pending job applications, continue researching top schools and their requirements that are ready to pay for your good grades with a masters scholarship. Please don't go to University of england to study surfing.

6. Sometimes you find yourself expecting so many results at a time (job and scholarships abroad), don't stop there. Do some soul searching and try to come up with something you are good at. This can help brew the entrepreneurship spirit in you. Maybe if you come up with something novel, you can end up bigger than Dangote.

With my post above, I have made an effort not to deter first class students from waiting on that dream job in Nigeria. But don't make your case like this dude who was a bright student up to PhD and was hoping his top grade will earn him a job immediately out of his research studies. He was dealt with a big blow. Read this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/aug/03/academic-job-seeking-and-post-doc-unemployment

My advise to you reading this and in need of direction is, always have an exit strategy, whether it is sweet or bitter, good or bad. You won't want to work in a bank for four years and be made redundant with no where to turn to thereafter.

AjanleKoko: You guys are really over the top with this abroad thing.
For your information, there are a lot of chaps who went to top schools abroad, and are back in Nigeria. Working in MNCs, running their own business, some are even into art, fashion, and writing/blogging. And they make a reasonably OK living.

Sure, Nigeria is not the West, not by a long shot. But there's a pervading mentality among Nigerian youth; they must go abroad, ostensibly to get a degree because 'the nation has failed them', or 'Nigerian education is useless'. What if i told you a friend of mine, who is a VP in a very big bank in Nigeria, is by birth an American citizen, and yet has never gone there to study or work? You would say it's a lie, or there is something wrong with the guy. But I shyt you not, the guy schooled in Nigeria, made a good grade, and even did his masters here. He's a pali-carrying American citizen.

The financial controller of Nigeria LNG is a chap with a first in accounting, a masters in finance from Unilag, and he was 2nd overall in the nation in his ICAN finals. He's one of the top five people in NLNG. Which abroad you wan use shakara that kind of person? He doesn't have any foreign degree, and he has been posted all over Europe and some parts of Asia to work.

If this guy truly has a first class in mathematics, I will march him over to Accenture myself. In fact, he should contact me. But if he does have a first class in math, and is in Nigeria, he won't even need me. Abroad? He will travel to America taya, even with his ordinary Bsc.

More likely he is taking the piss with respectable Nairaland folk, like so many other joker youth, which is why I dey vex for this section nowadays. You see posts like ' I want to work in oil and gas company, please help me!' I am beginning to wonder if any of these people are even in any university in Nigeria, with their terrible grammar.

They went abroad and came back right? I am of the opinion that the term 'exposure' is very missing in the general attitude of Nigerian youths. So if he made a first in Maths or Accounting, i am sure he is not alone in Nigeria with such grade. He is competing with other Nigerians with similar grades.

Unfortunately, on this same nairaland, we have seen many Nigerian grads who graduated with a degree in Maths but don't know what to do afterwards and these same youths you have personally labelled clueless right? So if i say he should consider going abroad, i am not advising with a bad intent, rather i want him to have a back up plan if he can't get any meaningful employment in Nigeria.

violent: Life and it's many faces eh? Some of us with an "okay" career off the shores of Nigeria continue to have a burning desire to be home. Home where our feet may leave but never our hearts!

Yeah right, you are off the shores of Nigeria and have seen how sane things are done where you reside. So i think it is fairly human of me to tell the dude to go and experience the same things and when he is satisfied he can choose to return to Nigeria and enjoy the Nigerian dream.

AjanleKoko: if he was truly a first class degree holder, and had an opportunity to study abroad.
But with a first class degree in mathematics, to be honest, he doesn't even need to bother about that right now.
if he does what he is advised to do (and trust me, the first class people know these things, because the companies I mentioned are actively looking for them), he will be able to pay for any masters himself in a couple of years.

I can't advise anybody with a first class in mathematics to waste time in Nigeria. There are many things they can do with their lives off the shores of Nigeria. If only they know where to look to.

AjanleKoko: The inferred absence of the first tells me only one thing.
This thread is a can of gulder.
Someone wants to FEEL GOOD

Buy you would have gladly paid for his masters abroad....

It is a known fact to those who understand and have experienced a working system that Nigeria is a mess. A total mess.

In as much as i believe guidance and counselling is important for the younger ones at that point of making crucial decisions like choosing a career, i believe this is a decision that can also be made out of ones convictions as well as learn from the society at large.

When it was time for me to choose a course back then on my jamb form, i always knew medicine was a good option because i wanted to stop working with maths. I was fine with anything else but maths. After i got jambed on numerous occasion, i decided to change my course options to computer related fields, just because i have had a very good background with computer applications immediately out of secondary school.

I believe choosing courses on the basis of what it sound like is a mistake that should be corrected in our system.

The Op knew what he wanted but does not know why he wanted it. Thus, making it difficult for him to convince his sponsor on his course option.

Op, if you are in a situation like i described in the last paragraph, maybe you should start by using google to find out genuine reasons why you opted for marine engineering. I am sure your sponsor will reason with your reason.

All the best.

nitrogen: Ngo? Pls wats the catch/benefit of working with an ngo, cos i just got a chance to work with one of them local ones for a year, please tell me.

If it is a reputable NGO, you can stand a chance to gain employment in similar and bigger organizations in future through affiliation. Gaining experience in project management is also a big catch in such organizations as most of them deal on seeing out projects on an individual basis. Administrative experience as well as hands on logistics knowledge if it is a relief organisation can be part of the things you stand to learn.

I am sure experienced people will come to your aid soon.

But one question is, before graduation, have you considered what you would actually want to do? or to better rephrase, what career path you want to continue to?

If you have an answer to the above, you make it easier for others to give you concise feedback.

Good luck,

AjanleKoko:
In fact, I should flog you sef. Lazy boy.

make both of una no kill me ooooo.

Congrats to you! Its tough out there.

I am starting to believe luck, God's grace is more important in finding a job these days.

Imagine PhD holders with no job in this global economy?

It is not overrated, the problem is, in Nigeria everybody wants to go the university. Too many people chasing few spaces

Why not diversify the education into vocational, polytechnics and what not.

Children are not brought up to be creative with their hands. Primary schools are flooded with half baked secondary school leavers as teachers without training.

Vicious circle i'd say.

[quote author=c-zay]Thanks all. I have applied for masters degree program in unilag also in my dept because I have strong flair for mathematics in view of becoming a lecturer. Once again thanks y'all[/quote]Why don't you apply for a masters in some countries in the west and continue to PhD. I don't mean to detract your aspiration to become a lecturer but what i am saying is that, there are some schools abroad who are happy to make use of your talent and even pay for it. Imagine you get accepted to Unilag and still paying tuition fee? or else you have a job you do already.

If you want more guidance, you can say and i am sure experienced people will be ready to add more.

An Indian IT company headquartered in the U.S started out with their core value i suppose 'let's pretend to be India's most ethical company'

Recently, the same company has been drawn in a long battle with U.S officials for giving out cheap work visas to Indians to migrate to the U.S.

I am not sure if this is part of what the Op is talking about.

@ Op, there is money out there to make for people like you. Cool money. Why? There is and will always be shortage of mathematicians. My only concern is that staying in Nigeria may hinder those chances.

My advice, go for further studies in one of the world's best institutions and in a good field. While you are at that great school, some professors may be interested in your talent and extend to you a chance for a PhD. After your PhD if you don't want to teach, there is always consulting. It's also called white collar abi?

All the best.

spicy v: @ Dadde I am not your brother, I am your sister, lol. @ Yemmy: how do you mean? Kindly expantiate.

The topic failed to separate these three entities. Core Value, vision, mission.

So my response was more inclined towards vision and mission. I don't know if the Op shares my thoughts on core value

its all about marketing.

Great posts!

deenee: I think that we will get to a point in this whole process where the basket full of certificates that we are all in a mad rush to acquire will no longer mean anything or add value. I will cite an example in this regard, the highly referenced ICAN examination has been watered down such that it no longer has any intrinsic value. We have scores of ACA holders roaming the streets and some working at roles where they are grossed under utilized. I mean how can you explain a ACA holder working as a teller or transaction analyst in a bank?

We are also to blame for this. Quite often I have seen people cross carpet from engineering to finance because they think that is where the big money is or people stacking one qualification on another like it is a game of dice with the hope that someday, somehow, they will be able to 'roll two straight sixes' with their array of certifications that in a true sense depict inconsistency. Take a look at our engineering sector- proliferated and occupied by expats and to be precise second rated expats who have come to Nigeria to be become stars. Same for the oil and gas and construction sectors, whilst our engineers are busy trying to become ACA qualified, CFA charter and MBA holders because they have been misled down the path of some grandiose delusion.

During my last visit to Nigeria, I was asked to sit on a panel saddled with the task of recruiting associates for a start up PE firm and was at first impressed with the array of qualifications brandished by the applicants. Some were even three times over qualified for the job specifications. Upon further scrutiny during the interview process, it dawned on me that only a handful were able to create a link between theory and practice. In retrospect, the fact that you have ACA,ACCA,CFA,GARP,MBA etc amounts to nothing if you don't have experience to back up your claim.

For me, I am almost at the tipping point where I will just take a look at the array of certificates,nod,sweep them aside and ask the essential question-what can you really offer besides the array of qualifications?

People say competitiveness is good for business. There goes same for jobs.