SALIENT CORPORATE LESSON

Lesson One: Bob , His Neighbour’s Wife and the N100,000 Bet.

Scene 1

Fred, Bob’s neighbour, is getting into the shower just as his (Fred’s) wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

Scene 2

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.
When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour.  Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you N100, 000 to drop that towel,"

Scene 3

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her N100, 000 and leaves.  The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

Scene 4

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"
"It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies.
"Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the N100, 000 he owes me?"

Corporate Lesson:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Posted by: Splendid!

SPLENDID! ENTREPRENEUR- STARTING YOUR OWN RESTAURANT

The restaurant business is one of the few not affected by any economic meltdown. This because people must eat no matter how poor they are; no matter the situation they are, even if unemployed. Anyone would eat even if it is with the last penny he or she can afford. That is what makes restaurant business very lucrative. Serious-minded investors, especially job-seekers, should give it a serious look.

With less than N 300,000 (three hundred thousand naira) one can start a nice local restaurant with good food, good business practice, and proper customer care. For a start, one could actually make as much as N 120,000 (one hundred and twenty thousand naira) on a monthly basis!

To start your own restaurant business, certain factors have to be taken into consideration for a smooth and easy take-off.

·         Good Space for your Restaurant

The average person likes to enjoy his food in a serene and laid back environment. Make sure you get a place as nice as possible you can afford. In fact, a great percentage of your investments go into this. If it is going to be a shop, let it be the one with extended frontage so that you can build canopy to afford your customers more space.

The cost of rent depends on the environment but one can get a nice place with N 100,000 (one hundred thousand naira). One should go for the best that is affordable. A lot of attention should also be paid to the location. For obvious reasons, areas with enough movement of people are better.

·         Furnishing your Restaurant

First impression, they say, matters a lot. The looks of the restaurant really matters. Many people would pay a lot of attention to this kind of details and this would influence patronage, to some extent. Therefore, ensure that that your restaurant is properly furnished. The first impression any one would have of your restaurant would come from the environment, particularly the furniture. The quality of your food and the type of cook you are can be perceived through your restaurant furniture.

The furniture may cost about N 150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand naira) depending on what you go for and your bargaining power. One could get a local carpenter (with proper supervision) that could do very good furniture at affordable cost. The use of plastic chairs and table is not advised. They would make your restaurant look too cheap, unorganized and untidy. But if that’s what you can afford then go for it.

·         Utensils and Accessories

At most, N 50,000 (fifty thousand naira) is all one needs to take care of these. It is not advisable to buy childish accessories like plastic plates and cutleries. Many people will reject the food no matter how good it looks if you serve it using plastic plates and spoons. Besides the fact that they look cheap and childish, the tendency of dirt hiding somewhere and the plate being discoloured is high.

Breakable and ceramic plates are the preferred type one should use. They are not very expensive. Feeding is a very sensitive aspect of human life. A lot of people don’t take what goes into their stomach for granted. It is not just about filling the stomach, it’s about satisfaction, health and enjoyment. While you make effort to prepare good foods for your customers, make sure you don’t ridicule your effort with cheap plates because, food look and taste great when served in a nice plate.

·         Employ Good Cook

People will fall in love with your food if they are well cooked and taste great. Make sure the cook you intend to employ knows how to cook different types of meals very well.  Utmost consideration should be given to this as no one would want to waste money twice in a bad restaurant.

With the aforementioned factors in place, one is set and good to go. Just start small and grow with time.

MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

"I learned I was not, as most Africans believed, the victim of my circumstances but the master of them."
--Legson Kayira

One of the things my Christian faith has taught me is that with God nothing is impossible. I live by four Ps-Prayers, Planning, Perseverance and Persistence. Hence one of the words that are not in my dictionary is "impossible". I seldom use it. Ditto words like providence, destiny and fate. Anything I want to do, I do it irrespective of all the obstacles by using the 4Ps.

To me, nothing is impossible if you have a clear goal and vision. According to the legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali, "Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision."

Anytime I remember the story of the award-winning Malawian writer, Legson Kayira, I am inspired. The facts of Kayira's early life are legendary: a Tumbuka born and educated in Nyasaland (now Malawi), he walked 3,200 kilometres to North Africa seeking opportunities for further education.

Like Martin Luther King Jnr., Legson had a dream. He wanted to be like his hero, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th American president, who had risen from poverty to become president, then fought tirelessly to help end slavery. He wanted to be like Booker T. Washington, the foremost black educator of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who cast off the shackles of slavery to become a great American reformer and educator, giving hope and dignity to himself and to his race. Legson's dream spurred him on a journey fuelled by his determination to get an education

Like these great role models, he wanted to serve mankind, to make a difference in the world. To realise his goal, he needed a first-rate education. Legson knew the best place to get it was in America.

When he was 17 years old, he sought his parents' blessing to go and study in America. His illiterate parents didn't know where America was but reluctantly gave their blessing.

His possessions were meagre: five-day supply of food, a Bible and Pilgrim's Progress, small axe for protection, and a blanket. Legson eagerly set out on the journey of his life. He was going to walk from his tribal village in Nyasaland, north across the wilderness of East Africa to Cairo, where he would board a ship to America to get a college education.

After five days of trekking across the rugged African terrain, Legson had covered only 25 miles. He was already out of food, his water was running out, and he had no money. To travel 2,975 more miles seemed impossible. Yet to turn back was to give up, to resign to a life of poverty and ignorance. Legson turned to his two books, reading the familiar words that renewed his faith in himself and in his goal. He ploughed on.

By January 1960, fifteen months after he began his perilous journey, he had travelled nearly a thousand miles to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. He was now growing stronger in body and wiser in the ways of survival. He remained in Kampala for six months, working at odd jobs and spending every spare moment in the library, reading voraciously.

In the library at Kampala, he came across an illustrated directory of American colleges. One illustration in particular caught his eye, the Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Washington. He wrote immediately to the school's dean explaining his plight and asking for a scholarship. The dean at Skagit was so impressed with Legson's determination that he not only granted him admission but also offered him a scholarship and a job that would pay his room and board.

Another piece of Legson's dream had fallen into place, yet more obstacles awaited him. Legson needed a passport and a visa, but to get a passport, he had to provide the government with a verified birth date. That's not all. To get a visa he needed the round-trip fare to the United States. Again, he picked up pen and paper and wrote to the missionaries who had taught him since childhood. They helped to push the passport through government channels. However, Legson still lacked the airfare required for a visa.

Undeterred, Legson continued his journey to Cairo believing he would somehow get the money he needed. Fortune smiled on him when upon hearing his story, the students of Skagit Valley College, with the help of local citizens, sent $650 to cover Legson's fare to America.

In December 1960, more than two years after his journey began, Legson Kayira arrived at Skagit Valley College. Carrying his two treasured books, he proudly passed through the towering entrance of the institution and began his studies.

But Legson Kayira didn't stop once he graduated. Continuing his academic journey, he became a professor of political science at Cambridge University in England and a widely respected author. His first book was the autobiographical I Will Try (1965), and he has written four novels: The Looming Shadow (1968), Jingala (1969), The Civil Servant (1971), and The Detainee (1974).

Like his heroes, Abraham Lincoln and Booker T. Washington, Legson Kayira rose above his humble beginnings and forged his own destiny. He made a difference in the world and became a magnificent beacon whose light remains as a guide for others to follow.

Legson's story shows that with faith, determination, a dream and a vision, we can achieve anything in life and rise to the top.

Culled from www.dayolomu.com

MUHAMMADU BUHARI- SALIENT LESSONS FROM THE 2015 POLLS

By Vwede Overah

The 2015 Nigerian presidential and National Assembly elections have been lost and won, but memories of events before, during and after the elections still lingers.

Like in every sphere of human endeavor, these particular elections, especially the presidential election, came with, and left behind several lessons for all. Lessons learnt include but not limited to the the one enumerated below:

Giving up should not be an option:

“It is not over until God say so”. This is one popular mantra usually associated with proactive and inspirational persons.

 I guess this was one thing General Muhammadu Buhari never considered when he gave up his quest, after three attempts at the presidency, in 2011. He believed it was over for him, hence he quitted. With strong emotion he called a press conference to announce his decision not to contest in future elections. In tears, he took the decision and left.

Three to four years afterwards, he had cause to start having a re-think. Most probably after persons who believe in the popular mantra met with him; made him believe in himself and maybe offered to partner with him to achieve his objective(s). The rest is known to all and now a part of history.

Not just in politics, but in our everyday life, giving should not be an option; especially in endeavors in which one has so much passion, trust or belief. “It is never over until God say so”.

Team-work is key:

One acronym I find interesting is: T.E.A.M (Together Everyone Achieve More). 

The years 2003 and 2007 say the president –elect, General Muhammadu Buhari sought to realize his presidential ambitions on the platform of the ANPP (All Nigeria People’s Party). Effort of the party was not good enough to see him clinch the presidency in 2003, neither was it formidable enough in 2007.

Suspecting some internal political foul play, the General decided to float his own CPC (Congress for Progressive Change). Again, albeit receiving accolades for the great level of party followership with a very short life-span, the General returned unelected. 

Here, it appeared the general in him gave way.  He gave up the fight. This third failure was it.

As widely believed, doing the same thing over and over again in the same way and manner will not bring a different result.

The 2015 elections have shown how team-work turned fortunes around for him. It is now known how his party the CPC (Congress for Progressive Change), ANPP (All Nigeria’s People’s Party), ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) and a faction of APGA (All Progressive Grand Alliance) merged to form a mega-party (All Progressive Congress, APC) that incidentally elected him as their presidential candidate.

While the CPC came with massive northern followership, the ACN deployed all political machinery to ensure that their leadership position in the west is intact for the APC elections. APGA came with some level of eastern support and ANPP teamed up with some northern states what was left of the party. Their coming together created a formidable opposition that ended up choking and defeating the ruling party, PDP (People’s Democratic Party).

In our everyday life, one should imbibe the spirit of team-work especially in tackling and surmounting difficult tasks and assignments. One should always remember that “no man is an island”.

Over-Confidence

This was a major albatross of the PDP (People’s Democratic Party).

As we grew up from children to adolescents, then adults, our parents, guardians and senior relations told interesting folktales, especially those with animal characters. All these tales taught us different lessons: from contentment, steadfastness, greed to industry, unity and cooperation, over-confidence, etc.

The PDP for many years dominated elective positions at the federal level and in over seventy percent of the states. While this dominance lasted, the leadership seemed to relent in consolidation efforts. Instead, they spent time reminding the whole world that PDP was the biggest political party in Africa and would remain in power for at least sixty years.

This over-confidence posture ate deep into the internal structure of the party to the extent that they lost focus and allowed the opposition APC to dominant and carry the day.

This reminds one of the popular folktale about the race between the tortoise and the dog. While the dog, knowing its capabilities and that of its opponent, boasted all day the tortoise painstakingly planned his success and ended up victorious.

People power and Resilience:

One simple definition of Democracy: it is a government of the people, for the people and by the people. This definition simply implies that the people are powerful, especially in determining political leadership.

Having being in power for over fifteen years, the PDP seem to believe that their dominance will continue indefinitely. They appeared to govern with impunity, ignored the welfare of people to a great extent, reneged on many initial electoral promises and underrated the capability of the main oppositions.

Among other things, Nigerians wanted constant power supply, improved infrastructure, jobs, and affordable healthcare and education.

For the first time, the people were determined to effect a change in leadership. They stayed up all night, endured the rains and other natural elements to ensure their votes counts.

Aside politics, at different times in our upbringing we were taught that in every aspect of human life: “the voice of the people is the voice of God”. 

AYETORO - WHY I LEFT LAW FOR MUSIC

 Funsho Ogundipe (a.k.a Ayetoro) is one name that rings bells in the mind of many for one, two or all of the following reasons: Law, Banking and Entertainment. In this exclusive and quick interview with Splendid Magazine, he spoke on his love for music and the Afro-Beat genre in particular.

You were known to be a law graduate. Why did you leave law for music?

I actually left law for Banking and specifically corporate finance from where I moved to music. Why do you change jobs or professions? I think it was when I realised what my mission was. 

With this move, you must have encountered strong resistance from parents and family.

I wouldn't call it resistance. It was more of concern given our society and the perception then of the musician as praise singer and possible vagrant.

Why the sudden dislike for law? Or were you forced to study law?

I still love law.I just love music enough to practice it as a profession  It was good I studied it as a discipline. You the the early men were multidisciplinary. Pythogoras was both a mathematician and the inventor of the musical scale. Law medicine music architecture can all be undertaken by the same person. 

Of all music why did you go for Afro-beat?

Fela kuti was a convincing spokesman for the new music called Afro-beat. Also my first love was jazz and Afro-beat with its use of jazzy chords and complex time signatures was challenging enough for me to want to play it. It had the most articulate spokesmen in form of Fela and his first son Femi that it was obvious it was the most intellectually challenging music in town.

Do you consider yourself a fulfilled person?

I'm happy. Doing what I love even while paying the price for that. 

Besides music, what else do you do?

I act. Direct short videos and do a little farming. 

What is your life philosophy?

Life should be explored.

What would you do differently if the opportunity arises again?

Nothing. Really I can't say. 

Who is your most admired personality and why?

In the modern world I find Miles Davis to be an incredible avatar of musical change who influences us musicians even from his grave. In the world of antiquity I respect Orunmila the sage of the Yorubas for his calmness and wisdom. 

Your unforgettable day?

The days my children were born will forever be etched in my memory. Parenthood is a blessing. 

What is your preferred delicacy. Why?

Pounded yam and Ofe Nsala. There are no why's where love is concerned. 

What is your most treasured possession?

I came here with nothing so I try not to hang on to anything. 

In another five years, where do you see your brand?

Time will tell. We live for today and all we want is to place the music and the idea of Ayetoro at the service of our people.

ANTI AGING SECRETS

By Adedayo Ajayi

 Sweet sixteen, 21 again, and forever young are some words people use to describe themselves which subconsciously relays the fact that they don’t wish to age. However, time is relentless and we age by the day. After an exhausting day’s activity filled with so much stress and tension, your forehead will bear wrinkles, you probably already know you need to relax and your body deserves to be pampered. Here are some routines to keep an ever radiant, youthful, glowing skin and keep them guessing your age.

1.      Take a warm bath: fill your tub with warm water and lavender. It helps in calming and relaxing the body system and also reduces body tension. It gives you a soothing relief as though the stress is sipping out into the water gradually.

2.      Exfoliation: we can’t overemphasize this. Exfoliation means removal of dead skin cells to reveal a fresh and tender one. Exfoliate the skin as regular as you can, use a scrub and moisturizer.

 1.      Moisturize: Hands are usually the first to show aging signs on the body and they are often the most neglected part of the body. To the hands, apply generous amount of hand cream to restore lost moisture. A moisturiser will go a long way to prevent aging signs on the hand.

2.      Use aromatic candles: Light aromatic candles in your bedroom: these candles provide soothing atmosphere and relaxes the senses.

3.      Use the “hot stone heart massage”: for this luxury you can afford, you need a smooth flat stone and follow the given instructions

a.      Boil water

b.      Add rose water or peppermint to the water

c.       Put stone in the boiling water till steam hot

d.      Lie down in a dark room

e.      Place stone in between the breasts

f.        Allow warmth to sip gradually from the stone to relax your mind and heart. This completely calms your nerves and prepares you for the following stressful day ahead.