Deviation.

Give it up for Google!

Poor Yahoo

I decided to check some Alexa rankings today, having done the same on statsbrain.com last week. Sometime last month, Google topped Yahoo on the charts and I took it for granted only to return the following day to see Yahoo! Back on top. With Google acquiring and buying startups of all sorts, I knew it was only a matter of time before they overthrew Yahoo. Is Yahoo bowing to the Credit Crunch (they must be all over Obama’s face right now)?. Another thing I’ve noticed so many bots now use gmail or better still mail.google.com. In the past, yahoo was more bot friendly. Also feedburner moved to the google domain… The long and short of it is that Google has done all within it’s power to attain the status of the world’s MOST VISITED SITE and is likely to keep that for a while, or maybe permanently. Will Facebook be the next threat? Or Youtube? Or Twitter?

Okay let’s wait and see.

By the way, the dollar closed at an exchange rate of 202 naira as Mey Dollars enjoy the “festive” period while it lasts. They buy from you for 185 but sell for 200 naira as dollar becomes increasingly scarce. Mixed fortunes innit?

Bookmark It

Fellow Lagosians,

Lagos Teachers make or break?

It is with a heavy heart that I write this piece. My hands are shaking and numb but write I must. As Kwara celebrated the strike suspension (http://allafrica.com/stories/200903060223.html) on Thursday, 5th of March 2009, National Union of Teachers NUT, Ilupeju, Lagos were engaged in showdown talks with Lagos only to finalise on Friday that teachers would have to resume work and the impromptu holiday had to come to an end (http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5390974-146/Lagos_teachers_call_off_strike_.csp). Kwara got what they asked for and negotiation with the Government was fruitful, but in Lagos, Africa’s “most populous” city, the teachers were threatened.

Not a death threat though, not blackmail for treason, nope. Now listen to the diplomatic, political threat:

“In order to give you what you have demanded from us, we MUST downsize and sack many of you!”

Osenobua! The statement, just a sentence can be translated into different versions, King James Version inclusive. Elizabethan would look somehow like:

“Thou shalt surely lose thy source of livelihood if it pleaseth thee in thine heart that thy neighbour shalt add more to his herd!”

and Hebrew, and NIV, and CEV, and Arabic… No matter which version, the point is clearer in the hip hop version:

“We just have to rob Peter to pay Paul so we can give Paul’s money to Caesar!”.

The teachers only asked for a 27.5% increase in the face of inflation, credit crunch and devaluation of our currency, the naira, and have now been forced not to call off but to “suspend” the strike and return to work. The students are bound to suffer some setback anyway.

Now my take on this. I think the NUT should allow the Government sack as many teachers as they can. I’ve been to public schools, teachers are just not enough. The government will be forced to employ more teachers with time as it becomes very obvious that the current number of teachers are not enough to help the ever growing influx of pupils into public schools. Also, people are bound to retire yearly, thereby freeing up more employment slots.

If teachers continue to teach without their hearts in their craft, we are bound to produce the worst generation of students ever, and that won’t be nice for the streets. The ones who will eventually suffer for this historic, cruel act will be you and me who ply the streets of Lagos everyday.

Ps: Dollar – Naira, Black market/ Street price at $1 to 190 naira.

Bookmark It

Are you looking for job? Are you sure you can weather the storm? Can you sell ice in Iceland? Are you sure you really need a job? Are you that hungry? Have you contemplated returning to the village or committing suicide? Do you still pay your tithe/offering? Are you tired of living in this country?

Brothers and sisters, the three eyed monster is staring at you right in the face at the moment. This Credit Crunch period is staring at everyone in the face and people wake up every morning not sure of the kind of drama set to unfold in the office today. Good morning is now just “morning” and goodbye is now let’s see what happens tomorrow. Are people now living in fear? Or is the world finally coming to an end? Many are fast seeing Obama and his mission of Hope as the much expected Anti-Christ and the world has never found itself in such a dire need for a saviour than now. Everyone wants to put this period behind them, but how?

There are two sides of the story, people suffering and people living large. You should know that someone stands to gain something from this or better still, some people put us in this tight situation… and like the one who invented HIV, may no longer be cool with this gameplan. Is it backfiring like a two edged sword and a boomerang?

Throughout 2008, Nigeria watched as the whole world screamed out in pain of the crunch but towards the end of the year, the country began feeling the impact. Last year was the mortgage year from cars to electronics, real estate and education but nowadays more and more people are becoming reluctant to taking loans. People are losing jobs and “current” salary accounts meant to stand as sureties either in form of post-dated cheques or direct debit are no longer sure. A top bank recently ordered all banks to “secretly” submit the names of 5 individuals (per branch) to be laid off in order to cut the wage bill. Besides security, luxury projects such as beautification, IP Telephony, Contact Centres, Equipment upgrade e.t.c. are being put on hold by most companies. It is only a matter of time before Nigerian companies will begin to file for bankruptcy (Like Telecom OEM, Nortel Canada did). And if you are thinking of taking a loan right now, you better watch out. Those who took loans at 17% (for 36 months) have been notified to start paying 24% as from the month of March e.g. First Bank. Stanbic IBTC are claiming 22% but the fact remains that interest rates have skyrocketed and banks are trying hard to cut losses. Watch out for quarterly reports.

I have to run now, I would say if we get out of this situation soon then many “wise” ones are likely to be rich for a very long time. Now is the time to start investing in things that will likely appreciate after this era. Credit crunch sounds like something to munch but it isn’t that crunchy. The only job vacancy right now is you thinking with your head and educating yourself in the direction of the crunch, lest you find yourself crumbling at the monster’s feet at turbo speed, albeit unplanned.

Peace.

Bookmark It