419 ADVANCED FEE FRAUD ALERT

That there are fraudsters all over the world is no longer news, with recent landmark prosecution of cases involving transnational large scale advanced fee fraud tends to lend credence on the one hand to the fact that it truly exists and gives some hope that it could be policed on the other.

Certain schools of thought have emerged in the study of the people, methods/models, and the victims. Making a huge demand on government financial security agencies, the society (family, community, religion), as well as the victims themselves.

My motivation for this post is owing to the fact that despite attempts from the above mentioned quarters to curtail the scale of advanced fee fraud (otherwise called 419 in Nigeria) new emerging methods keep coming up everyday, fresh victims keep falling and the security agencies keep being eluded by the smartness of these fraudsters.

Quite a number of advances have been made by these 419ners to me but you know, only a greedy fellow who does not want to work for money or cut corners will fall for their antics. Take for instance a fellow tells you his father owns the national stadium of a country and the National Petroleum Corporation and then you send him money to under-cut the company or sell to you illegally an undiscovered oil block and you fall flat for it? Well, I say you have a problem yourself. Nigeria is not a Kingdom where Monarchs have domain over natural resources, moreover you want to buy an oil block through the back door. If you ask me the victims are the 419ners.

Recently I was sent a mail from a so called Irish Lottery Agency that I have won 1,350,000.00 pounds. Such messages do not get delivered by e-mail, it is accompanied with a lot of publicity. Check out the value, do the arithmetic it comes to about =N=310,500,000.00. That you will agree with me is not small money. Then after the long story, I was told to pay some miserable sum of money for the opening of an account and courier.

Whosoever falls for this sort of trick is not just a fool but greedy and simply put a thief.

The consensus we can reach about 419 are basic and simple;
If you are greedy you fall, government agencies sometimes aid and abet 419, family, societal and religious leaders have a greater share of the blame than governments.

It is monster that feeds and survives on the greed of their victims.

They are a moving target and must be policed as such.

DIVINE RESTORATION

POSITIONING FOR RESTORATION

The difference between poverty and prosperity are:

• “OVER” IN “POVERTY” ;
• And
• “ROSPERI” IN “PROSPERITY”.

This is so because both words start with letter “P” and end with the letters “TY”

So we can conclude that in the equation of rewards or success the letter “P” and “TY” are constant.

Your level in life is a function of certain factors as we shall begin to explore right away.
Now I will implore you to pay rapt attention for the few minutes this this piece will last because they are defining moments you cannot afford to joke with.

Before we start I will want you to talk to God our Father, Saviour and Teacher; ask for transportation from your current level in life to a higher dimension of knowledge, expression and conversion of ideas to derive maximum economic benefits.

Take notice of the operational words modifying ideas;

- KNOWLEDGE;
- EXPRESSION;
- CONVERSION.

KNOWLEDGE

“know-how”. It usually comes after extensive study or research; it’s a deliberate acquisition of facts through inquisition; the bible says- study to show yourself approved, this is not taking over the place of divine revelation in knowledge acquisition. It is a show of commitment to a cause.

EXPRESSION

The act of communicating an idea or passing across information and receiving a feedback to the affirmative; being able to articulate and achieve the listener’s understanding is crucial in our age and time; it could be verbal or non-verbal, formal or informal, express or implied; the most important element here is understanding as feedback from the recipient.

CONVERSION

“translating” this is also extremely crucial because it is about the most important defining factor in the prosperity equation. “of what value is a hunter without a roster?” The hunter is equipped with the power of know-how and expression- i.e. gaming tactics & application. But the roster adds value!!!

The roster; power of conversion

The roster is able to add value in two major ways:

• Preservation of resources' value;
• Multiplication of – benefits from current resource - conversion;

My knowledge of finance brings me to the understanding that- you cannot have the power of conversion and remain the same old pauper.

Learn a lesson from the parable of talents; the distinguishing factor is the power of conversion, preservation for future availability and multiplication of resources; these are the determinants of rewards used by the master.

CONCLUSION

Let no man deceive you – “IDEAS RULE THE WORLD”.

Now ask yourself:
Do I Have The Knowledge Necessary For The Reception Of The Impending Showers Of Blessing?
Do I Have The Ability To Effectively Communicate Them?
Do I Have The Skills To Convert My Ideas Via Expression To Economically Viable Rewards Generator?

Do you want to be Just a hunter? Just a roster? Or both a hunter and the roster?
Talk to God, for the bible says “if you ask you will receive, when you seek you will find, and if only you take the pain to knock, the door shall be opened unto you”.

GETTING AHEAD

The Nigerian Business terrain presents a bundle of challenges which only the discerning business man can exploit its full potentials.

With a conservative estimated population of 140Million, 6 goe-political zones each with its unique product endowment, 36 federating states, and over 700 local governments you will discover that its potentials are indeed great.

The snag however is that the Nigerian business waters can only be swam by the bold and daring, equipped with a sound knowledge of the market place and consumer perception peculiar only to the Nigerian populace. Take for instance the law of demand and supply which does not hold in Nigeria, more often than not the very opposite always happen.

Quite recently, business have also discovered the sensitivity of the Nigerian market to brands and colours. While this may not be peculiar to Nigeria, the twist is that, the extent to which brand loyalty and identity hold sway on the Nigerian Consumer strongly depends not only on the intrinsic value of the product but the extent to which the brand has been able to show some support towards the welfare of individuals, community, and state. A typical case for study is the aggression expressed by Operators in the Telecommunications as well as the Banking sectors, with each trying to outdo the other in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and their ability to convincingly express the benefits of such to the average man on the street. Now, that is where most companies get it wrong.

Through the deployment of right Public Relations or Corporate Communications mix, an organisation is able to leverage on the benefit of building and maintaining a sound relationship with her various publics which if managed professionally from the strategic decision making level has the potential of creating a boom at a cost that will be moderate.

Therefore, companies wishing to maximise returns on every Naira spent in the image building and sustaining process should start making decisions from now and engage creative and competent consultants who will not only be able to deliver but can at a cost friendly to the budget.

Getting ahead, requires constructive and proactive engagement with a strong strategic decision to do the unusual in order to get unusual results as the yuletide is approaching.

GO A-BRANDING AND SUCCEED.

BANKING REVOLUTION-NIGERIA

Sequel to the wind that blew through the Nigerian Banking landscape during the President Obasanjo Administration under his Banking Consolidation (Reform) programme, hopes were very high in expectation of wonderful financial products that will sail the Nigerian economy into the much desired double digit growth in all of its ramifications.

Scaling the banks to 25 Mega Banks, Creating a new brand for the community banks to become Micro-finance Banks, Removing Quarckry from the Foreign Exchange sector, Increasing Bank 's Minimum Capital base, expanded foreign reserve, scheduled currency re-denomination, among other strategies were in the fore to tackle Nigeria's ailing economy.

Accolades from the world, canceled debt, improved global confidence, direct foreign investment, increased development aid and so on also greeted the numerous moves.

Further, increased capital base translated to better liquidity for banks' money creation function through business financing. Extraction of government fund from banks, mopping-up excess liquidity, etc also gave birth to reduced inflation and vibrancy in the real productive sectors.

In the early parts of this year however, quite a number of disturbing developments have emerged. Notable among them is the unfriendly lending rate. when the banks are ready to give the facility usually after requesting documents they do not expect 98% of the business to have, the rates usually in double digits for short term (below one year) and accompanied with numerous hidden charges that are only made known after the borrower has been committed are then reeled out.

Another issue is the granting of equipment financing facilities. Rather than help the real sector to acquire productive equipment that will yield returns on investments, the Nigerian MEGA BANKS will give facilities to Blue chip workers-oil companies, telecommunications, and politicians, whose pay package they are sure can liquidate the facility (maybe its risk assurance).

Most disturbing is the granting of EDUCATION LOANS, good idea! it sounds like a new lease of life is given the less privileged to acquire education and break the cycle of poverty, but hey! do not be fooled. When you get to know that the birth certificate of your great,great,grand parents will be required including sureties from the presidency, then you will find out its impossible for the poor to get. Disgusting also to find out that it is meant for only over-seas studies (until recently when it was changed), meaning there are no schools in Nigeria any longer or its another way to tell that its a product meant only for the upper class.

The questions begging for answers therefore are:

1. would the Nigerian financial sector ever get better and her impact felt on the economy?
2. would the poor ever have hope of deliverance from abject poverty amidst plenty?
3. would the SMEs ever get: a) access to loans? b) a fair deal?
   
4. where is the place of social responsibility in product design and delivery?
5. is that why graduates of Nigerian universities have now been included in the discrimination against polytechnic graduates by employers (particularly the banks-predominantly new generation)?
   

someone should please answer these questions. Perhaps there is more to it than I see.

Aileon

DOWN & OUT

I got this quote in one of such times when I was at the lowest of my ebbs, and I feel obliged to share it:-

"EVERY SETBACK IS A SET UP FOR A STEP UP"
Although I do not know the Author, but I will give the credit to the Woman that told me, one time my lecturer and motivator: Mrs. R.C. Mamman (Department of Business Administration & Management, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria).

Aileon A. Agbon

HOW DO YOU DEFINE DEVELOPMENT

The issue of human development indices have continued to pose a great challenge the world over.



Lately it is becoming more of a developing (better still underdeveloped) world challenge. But lets for the puirpose of this post see it as adding value to human existence such that they feel better than the animals in the wild.



Quite disturbing is the fact that, most of the underdeveloped countries whose leaders and citizens tend to show-off some synthetic afluence or orpulence live below the poverty line even in the midst of plenty.



That Nigerian Educational system is or has lost respect, social infrastructure decayed, political structure fractured by godfatherism and large scale fraud, corruption at its peak (post Obasanjo) and state driving policy constantly surmasulting is most probably not news to anyone even in the remotest part of the world.



I woke up one morning to go-a-fishing for daily bread only to find out that a two year old bridge contract awarded by the ogun state government in the border ojodu area has been swallowed-up by the stream measuring about 17metres in width. Now the implication is that you could only cross by walking knee deep in across the stream or ride in a canoe. and still get wet in either case.



Despite apeals to the government (local and state) to find a lasting solution to the perennial crisis it has continued to fall on deaf ears.



My guess therefore is that perhaps NGOs which have taken over government responsibilities should come to our rescue, but only some few days back i noticed big sign posts placed at certain intervals along the road reading "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA, TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED". Now I or we seem to have hope, but then.....



We can only but hope.