Culled from: http://worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/application-information
Apply at: https://apply.worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/

To be eligible, applicants must:

• BE IN THE MID-CAREER STAGE Fellows are at least five, and typically not more than 20, years into their careers, with demonstrated work accomplishments, and a clear indication of future contributions and excellence.  The average age of a Greenberg World Fellow is 39, though there is no minimum or maximum age limit.
• BE FLUENT IN ENGLISH An excellent command of the English language is essential.
• BE A CITIZEN OF A COUNTRY OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES  While dual citizens are eligible, preference is given to candidates whose work is focused outside the US.

SELECTION CRITERIA INCLUDE:

• An established record of extraordinary achievement and integrity;
• Commitment to engagement in crucial issues and to making a difference at the national or international level;
• Promise of a future career of leadership and notable impact;
• Special capacity for critical, creative, entrepreneurial, and strategic thinking;
• Likelihood to benefit from participation in the Program and to contribute to global understanding at Yale;
• Commitment to a rigorous program of activities, to full-time residence at Yale for the entire duration of the program, and to mentoring students and speaking frequently on campus

APPLICATION PROCESS OVERVIEW:

• Please note that application for admission to the Greenberg World Fellows Program is entirely an online process. There are no paper forms to complete or mail.
• There is no application fee or other cost to apply.
• Prior to the deadline, you may work on your application at any time and submit it when you are ready. After creating an account and accessing the online application, you can upload materials and request your letters of recommendation.
• Applicants are required to submit a Résumé/Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages), three essays (500 words maximum each), and three letters of recommendation. Applicants also have the option of submitting a brief video statement.  Complete instructions can be found within the online application once you create an account.
• The application deadline for the 2018 Program is 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on December 6, 2017.  No extensions will be granted and late applications will not be accepted.
• Most questions about the program and the application process can be answered by reviewing this website and the common questions.  If your question is unanswered, you may contact staff at applicant.worldfellows@yale.edu. Please do not send multiple emails regarding one issue, and please do not email staff individually. We thank you for your patience in allowing staff adequate time to thoughtfully process your inquiries.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE:

• A taxable stipend to cover the costs of living in New Haven
• A modest, furnished one- or two-bedroom apartment for the duration of the program
• Medical insurance
• Round-trip travel from home country

1. Seeking Alpha

I use their phone app more than the website. I learn a lot from the expert opinions and even though they don't often translate to insights I can use here in Nigeria, they teach me how to think critically about financial and economic matters. Also I get actionable news about US stocks I own and/or track.

2. Motley Fool
First, don't subscribe to their stocks recommendation service, they will try to sell you crap subscription to what they call high value secrets and the next Apple. Other than that, you'll learn a lot from their investment and personal finance articles and other expertly written educational articles.

3. Investopedia
They live up to their motto: "Sharper Insights. Smarter Investing". Make sure you subscribe to their newsletters and you will be on your way to getting some the best educative articles on investment without paying a kobo.

4. Real Vision
Not really free but you get one week free with no strings attached access. The value housed in Real Vision is immense and without comparison. I have gotten more valuable education and insights from there than I have from any other online community.

5. RMG Investment - Weekly Investment Bulletin
 I got to know about this from the Portfolio Manager in a foreign investment management company I consulted for. It's almost a year now since I signed up to the weekly bulletin and I have gain a lot from it. I learned how to critically analyse economic and financial happenings plus how investment managers think. 

6. Frontera
This is a high value community for anyone interested in stocks investment and understanding macro trends. It is an amazing repository of financial and investment news across the frontier economies which Nigeria is one of. And even though Nigeria doesn't get the most coverage, a lot of the articles provide transferable insights of benefit to a Nigerian like me.
Again, make sure you sign up for the newsletters.

And those are the online communities I am a part of that have provided me the most value in my investment and person finance journey.

image: guardian.ng

Here are the highlights of what I want to share with you:

1. The Federal Government has been borrowing aggressively in the last two years.
2. The interest rates the government is borrowing at is very high and currently spending over 60% of federal revenue on debt servicing
3. Now the government is trying to shift from local debt to foreign debt (reduce borrowing in Naira that costs over 16% interest rate to borrowing in dollars that costs about 6% interest rate)
4. The government will have (and I believe they already are) to print more money to meet up with its financial obligations (debts, salaries and infrastructure building)
5. Once CBN eases its business restrictive policies on the banks (bringing back the MPR and CRR to business friendly levels) and the government stops mopping up liquidity via excessive local borrowing, inflation is going to head straight for the sky.
6. In conclusion, very soon we are going to have too much money (courtesy government printing money at a rate never before seen in the past decades) chasing the same goods. You should be prepared.

As long as we keep sending the worst among us to seats of power and national leadership positions, we will keep suffering for it in ways we don't expect. 

Everyday, the newspapers report some new property belonging to a politician or ex-government person gotten from looting has been uncovered. They've traced billions of ill gotten wealth to people in the last government than what Abacha stole (I think). Unfortunately, these money are not money from thin air. They are money that should have been used for improving the economy and cushioning shocks like the recent crude oil price drop. Now we are facing the direct effect of high prices, economic recession, job/business loss and increase in crime rate.

Today, I am to tell you that another negative effect is on the horizon. Since the recession, the federal government has been borrowing money non-stop to fund the deficit in budget as the oil revenue and tax revenue have dropped. Unfortunately, the rise in inflation rate, as Naira crashed leading to rise in prices of all imported goods which accounts for most of our consumption, means the government has to borrow at a very high interest rate (to prevent negative real interest rate, in case you want to know why). So now the government is borrowing a lot and having to pay a lot too as interest to the lenders.

The problem is that the interest it is paying is now gulping a huge chunk of the revenue so very little is left and if the cycle continues we will have to borrow increasingly forever or people's salaries will never get paid and government will breakdown like PDP (because money don finish). However, this will not happen because unlike PDP, the federal government owns the money printing press. They can always print as much money as they want. And that is what they will do.

That is why another problem will arise for the common man. Once the government starts flooding the nation with paper money, the real value of those paper money goes down. Our salaries will begin to worth much less. It will be like seeing Zimbabwe's money crisis happen in slow motion.

Why isn't that happening already? 

Government is mopping up liquidity (selling bonds in unprecedented amount, which practically means taking your (banks') money and giving you an I Owe You note). Then CBN is making sure banks have very little money to give to businesses. So a lot of the money is trapped with government -- CBN and DMO. But all that is about to change.

The federal government is already saying they are cutting down on local debts (borrowing from me and you and our local banks) because the interest rate is worryingly high (16% +). It is now going after foreign loans (borrowing in dollars from non-resident Nigerians and the international community). It hopes to increase the proportion of its foreign loan in two years to 40% from the less than 30% it currently is, which means drastically reducing its local borrowing.

Do you want to guess what the result will be?

On the other hand, CBN is already getting excited with the improved monetary situation in the country. Inflation is reducing, GDP is now back on the growth track, FX is now stabilizing (with Naira showing signs of strength) and general sentiments are positive. It is now a countdown to easing the monetary policies. And when that happens, all the money that has been trapped will get released into the economy.

Again, do you want to guess what the result will be?

The two situations I described are going to have the same effect of too much money chasing the same goods. Inflation will go right back up and this time more than government can easily handle. As government is printing and importing money to pay its local debts, banks will be awash with enough money to spread around and businesses will get the optimism they've been looking for. We will think everything is getting better. Then inflation will spiral out of control.

It is a grim prediction. And like all predictions, it is one out of many possibilities. My writing this is not to be able to someday say "I already told you so" but to tell you to be prepared for its possible happening. At least take some practical steps like not borrowing people too much money, not taking a job that comes with bond or inflexible salary, and if you are the entrepreneurial type, business is going to boom soon. Don't be at the receiving end of both the current crisis and the future one. 

This month I decided to try out CowryWise and ALAT digital banking platforms.

To make it easy for you to get an actionable gist from my experience with the two platforms, I will do a feature by feature comparison.

EASE OF USE
I find CowryWise more user friendly than ALAT. Though ALAT is available as a phone app on both Android and iOS platform, it still didn't come off as very easy to use as CowryWise. 

Registration is a straightforward process of filling a non-tedious form on CowryWise. 

Registering on ALAT requires you to supply your BVN and the phone number linked to your BVN. Took me three days to get part right as I was giving a phone number that wasn't the one I registered with the bank I did my BVN with and the platform doesn't tell you what's wrong so you have to just keep trying to figure out things on your own. Then when you are past that stage, you have to face the unreliability of their SMS verification code delivery. Almost every major task you'll do during the registration process requires an SMS verification code, the problem is that sometimes the code comes hours late and useless by then. Lastly, you need to upload your national identity card and a utility bill. Then they can get rejected for many reasons, so the back and forth can be exhausting. In the end, you can't get an ALAT account set up in one day, unlike CowryWise. It took me two weeks and I'm not sure that all is fully set up as there is still a transaction limit (N30,000/daily outward transfer) on my account.

TRANSACTION FEES
Here CowryWise is like heaven to ALAT's earth. 

With CowryWise you incur no transaction charge, depositing money or withdrawing money. But ALAT charges you in both directions -- depositing and withdrawing. The charges look small, but there can easily add up if you do even just a few transactions a month.

Also, ALAT requires a minimum balance of N500 which they don't make obvious upfront. I also get some unexplained charges. I hate such traditional bank tactics.

ROBUSTNESS (Number and depth of available features)
ALAT is more robust than CowryWise.

ALAT provides you a MasterCard you can use for ATM withdrawals and online payment. Provides you the best online card management platform I have ever seen (better than GTBank, Stanbic, FCMB and Diamond Banks'). You can access your account via their beautiful phone apps. And you can do bills payment and airtime purchase from their platform. ALAT is actually a standard bank account. You can transfer to it from other banks, either via their online platform (just pick Wema bank) or ATM transfer. The account number is the standard NUBAN one.

CowryWise does not have debit card nor phone apps nor bill payment feature.

However, both have savings goal feature and CowryWise even goes as far as allowing you to automate your savings (a neat e-version of direct debit mandate).

REPUTATION
ALAT wins here. It is owned by a well-known bank -- Wema Bank. And they seem more thorough with account opening process -- requesting and verifying standard KYC (Know Your Customer) documents. CowryWise doesn't have such a big heritage and they didn't request KYC documents from me.

INTEREST RATE
CowryWise wins massively here, by a mountain-slide. With the absence of transaction charges you are actually earning the full promised interest rate (between 10% and 15%) than ALAT's advertised 10% which gets hammered by charges and possible interest penalties. Also ALAT gives you that 10% only on money you put in a savings goal you first need to create and isn't directly linked to your primary account (and MasterCard). You have two options when creating the savings goal -- a fixed approach and a flexible approach. In the fixed approach you lose all interests if you withdraw before the goal termination date and in the flexible approach you can only withdraw half of what's in the account within a month without incurring the interest penalty. I see all these as huge red flags for me. I had to even call the customer care before I got these vital details.

WITHDRAWAL
I'll say it's a tie. I initiated withdrawal on both platforms and got the value within the hour. But ALAT's MasterCard gives ALAT more edge over CowryWise just that I don't consider it significant enough to say it's not a tie.

MY DECISION
I am doing both of them but see myself using more of CowryWise than ALAT. My original strategy is to put most of my emergency funds in them and benefit from the way higher interest rate than what the banks pay. But the restrictions around ALAT vis-a-vis the high interest rate part defeats that for me. So I will be using mainly CowryWise for the emergency fund part in addition with my already existing Diamond Bank's High Deposit Account (that is no longer living up to its name). Using ALAT is more of as an adventure for me and to be part of the first to hop onboard the digital banking wave in Nigeria.

Culled from: http://youngprofessionals.ng/
Register at: https://cnforms.wufoo.com/forms/zto2kfl1pmied6/

The Young Professionals Bootcamp (YPB) is a 5-day in-residence program for high potential 20-25 year olds to learn world class practical training for success in the marketplace.

300 participants will be selected from a pool of numerous applications to go through a 5 day intensive professional bootcamp. Opportunities like mentoring, internships an investment seed funding opportunities will be accessible to the most promising participants. This year’s edition has been streamlined into 3 key sectors: Entrepreneurship, Creative Industry and Corporate/Career

With YPB, we hope to equip young people with world class practical training, inspire innovation, drive success in the marketplace and ultimately lead to transformation of the Nigerian economy.

YPB is a new initiative of The Platform Nigeria powered by Covenant Christian Centre.

CORPORATE CAREER STREAM
This stream is designed to highlight and equip participants with the key attributes required to build a successful corporate career.

Career Elements:
Clarity of Purpose
Value addition
Skills and competencies
Communication
Business ethics
Relationship management
Leadership
Continuous Improvement

Key Objectives:
To assist participants in clearly defining their career goals and executing an effective strategy for success
To provide participants with an understanding of the key business skills and soft skills required for a successful corporate career
To provide participants with a practical guide into maximizing the resources available in the work place for effective performance
To provide insight into the tools and resources available to start and grow a successful career


CREATIVE INDUSTRY STREAM
As one of the fastest growing & diverse employment sectors, this curriculum will help participants acquire the knowledge + skills necessary to become successful leaders in Entertainment, Media & the Arts

Career Elements:
Innovation
Collaboration
Opportunity Recognition
Skills and competencies
Communication
Entrepreneurship Mindset
Creative Leadership

Key Objectives:
To provide participants with a clear understanding of the Creative Industry
To assist participants in clearly defining their career goals and executing an effective strategy for success
To provide participants with an understanding of the key business skills and soft skills required to succeed in the creative industry
To provide insight into the tools and resources available to start and grow a successful career


ENTREPRENEURSHIP STREAM
This stream is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs validate their ideas and understand steps to establish and grow their business

Career Elements:
Opportunities
Partners
Finance
Legal
Sales/Marketing

Key Objectives:
To equip participants with skills in identifying and validating opportunities
To learn key issues in structuring partnerships with co-founders and investors.
To understand frameworks for prioritization and bootstrapping methods essential for a startup.
To educate on basic corporate governance.

FACILITATORS
We’re led by a team who constantly questions, tinkers, and challenges to unlock great creativity around every turn.

Pastor Poju Oyemade
Visionary, The Platform Nigeria Pastor Poju Oyemade

Obinnia Abajue
CEO Hygeia HMO Ltd

Chika Nwobi
Founder, L5 Lab

Mayokun Fadeyibi
Head of Business Development & Strategy, OLX

Adekunbi Adeoye
Executive Director of SESEWA

Ayokunnu Ojeniyi

Maurice Igugu
Creative & Content Developer, Sterling Bank

Abiola Adewole
Managing Director, Oxford Blue Limited

Mezuo O. Nwuneli
Managing Director, Sahel Capital

If romance means reading, writing and working, I am the most romantic man on earth. Unfortunately, it isn't. And worse, it involves more of the opposite of those three, especially working.

So now, I am reading two books on being romantic. I don't know whether they will succeed in making me romantic but one has got to try. 

The number one book is Gary Chapman's The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts. Interestingly, my girlfriend has mentioned him before so I was pleasantly surprised when I searched on Amazon and his book popped up as one of the most highly recommended.

I have read through a few pages already and I think it's a book I will like and be able to apply the teachings in it. He says everyone has his/her primary love language and that you can't be romantic if you are speaking Chinese while she only understands English. Makes sense. I only hope learning another love language won't be as hard as learning French.

Then I bought 1001 Ways to Be Romantic: More Romantic Than Ever. I haven't opened the book yet but from the description and reviews, it seems to be filled with romantic ideas one can implement, especially for the blockheads like me. Ideas that range from hiring a helicopter + pilot (according to one person's comment) to simple inexpensive letter writing. I hope drones pass as an helicopter, 'cos I have one and maybe this will finally solve my lack of ideas of what to do with it.

Do you have any romantic advice for unfortunate ones like me? Do please share. 😀

Early this year I was at the Data Science Nigeria Bootcamp, it was a wonderful experience and I got the special privilege of handling two sessions. You can read what I wrote about it here: Having A Wonderful Time At Data Science Nigeria Bootcamp

Next month there is another one and looking to be a hundred times more robust and impacting than the first edition I attended in January. You should check it out and start the registration process if you want to jump start you data science knowledge in a practical and professional way: http://www.datasciencenigeria.org/ 

image: thrivent.com

1. Buy Only Necessities
It is very easy to feel you deserve whatever you suddenly want. And I completely agree that you deserve anything you believe you deserve. The only problem I want you to tackle is the "want". You have to stop wanting too many things. Try as much as you can to only buy the things you absolutely need.

Every month, I know that I deserve a new car; a sleeker, newer model and more reliable one than I currently have. Even my girlfriend and parents join me in that belief. Then everyday I want get a new laptop. I see those new touchscreen, core i100 and metal body laptops, and can't let go of the reality that my current laptop is three years old and not high-end enough. And those are not all, I regular catch other "I need this and that" flu. Some days, the attacks are severe and I have to sacrifice something to ease the feeling. I have recently spent some good money on my car and that has helped greatly reduced the severity of the "new car" flu. I tell myself that no one genuinely uses two laptops, one laptop will just completely go unused after a while, and that I would set aside money for the new sleek laptop I want and buy it the very moment I am sure I no longer can use the current one. The sacrificing some money by setting it aside as new laptop fund makes the "new laptop" flu manageable. And I have other similar ways I manage the other flus.

You also have to find a way to manage your own, sometimes child-like, wants. You can't just pamper yourself with everything you feel you deserve. That is like paving one's road to financial destruction. Warren Buffett once said, "If you keep buying everything you want, you will end up selling what you need." Meaning, it will lead to financial ruin -- where you not only lose the very luxuries you bought but also have to dispose of some necessities to survive.

2. Don't Have Expensive Hobbies
It is very easy to justify paying hundreds of thousands annually to join social clubs. They will pay off in terms of the network/connections and opportunities you'll get. The trouble is that some people overdo it. They make themselves a social pest, doing speed networks across the nation at exorbitant prices. If you ask my advice, it'll come in form of one word: don't. Don't find the most expensive way of achieving things -- whether social connections or personal development.

3. Put Money Away In An Investment Account Regularly
Don't just save, invest.
Every month, I try to invest as much as I can. A little this month and a little next month all add up to a substantial amount at the end of the year. Most especially bonus-like money. There are some money I get that I am not expecting, I often move them to my investment account before I get any funny idea of buying some fancy gadget. And as a business man, there are times business is very good and I get a bumper harvest. I make sure to splash on my investment account rather than on something more temporal.

4. Lastly, Be Part Of A Financial Intelligence Community
There is nothing as edifying and motivating as being a part of a community of investors and highly financially literate people on the same journey to financial abundance as you. I am a part of at least five such highly edifying communities.

Yesterday I hit 500 subscribers on YouTube. It made me feel very happy. I have worked deliberately to grow my YouTube subscribers, doing even YouTube adverts. In the beginning I felt the YouTube ecosystem unfairly treats technical content providers. People would rather watch comedy and movies on YouTube than a training related content. 

I would upload videos and very few people would view them. And it was like that for me from 2012 to 2016. This year, things really changed for good for me, the numbers started going up. Viewership numbers, subscription counts and even the YouTube adverts revenue I earn. My monthly webinar has also greatly helped, many of the people who participate enjoy it so much that they subscribe to the YouTube channel.

Now I am gradually becoming a YouTube influencer in the tiny Excel and Data Analysis niche.

😀

I use Excel a lot for my investment planning, stocks analysis, personal budgeting, savings goal calculations and business financials. Then, I use it for corporate finance projects I get from both local and foreign corporate clients (companies).

In this webinar, I will be taking you through the formulas, templates and tools I use in Excel for personal finance, investment planning and other financial calculations.

You will be learning how to use PMT to plan your savings towards a goal (buying a property or your child's ivy league university education fee). 
You will learn how to create a personal or business loan schedule. 
You will learn how to determine how much your monthly savings in an interest bearing account will amount to in 5 or 10 years from now
You will learn how to calculate the interest rate the microfinance bank is giving you that 6 months loan at (you'll be surprised at the figure, I'll use a live example)
You will learn how to calculate how long to finish paying for a car or home loan (mortgage) if you pick your own monthly/yearly repayment amount
You will learn how I analyse stocks and get access a special tool I built and made freely available for Nigerians
You will learn how to make some common business financial calculations

Don't miss the webinar!

Date: Today, Thursday, September 21, 2017
Time: 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Venue: YouTube Live --  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOJ9hEgDlA4   (just click on the link to join on the webinar day, you might want to set a reminder too)

To always be in loop of our monthly helpful webinars for the busy business professionals, join our webinar directory.

To view the recordings of previous similarly useful webinars, visit the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelOlafusi

😀 
To all those who think I don't watch movies, ta-daa 😜

Once in three months I subscribe to Netflix and once in six months I buy a one month ExpressVPN subscription which allows me to watch US Netflix, Canada Netflix, France Netflix, Germany Netflix and UK Netflix (I don't bother about the other countries and I think Canada has the most interesting movies).

This month is the one I do both the Netflix subscription and the ExpressVPN subscription, so I have been watching loads of movies this month. 

And being the nice me, I will be sharing with you the movies I found very interesting -- well worth both the time it took me to find them and the time spent watching them. By the way, you have to pardon my  one-sided (action movies laden) lists and also that it's probably filled with old movies most movie lovers have watched already.

1. Captain America: The First Avenger
This one came as a real pleasant surprise. So Captain America was originally a very skinny constantly bullied boy-man. If you haven't watched it, you should even if you don't like action movies. This one is not like the crap story gun cracking from start to finish action movies out there. It has a very romantic side to it and the story line makes sense.

2. The Adjustment Bureau
This is the most unusual love story movie I have ever watched. It is one of the movies that are so good that you can't wait to forget it so you can it watch again like for the first time. It is about how angels and higher powers tried to keep Norris from Elise because Norris is destined to be the US president and Elise is destined to be a celebrity but the love they have for one another if allowed to blossom will kill all the ambition in them and they will live quiet insignificant lives. So the authors of their destiny deployed a lot of resources to keep them apart. Again, you would love it.

3. Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolution
I know I am late to the party on these ones, but if you are equally late or have forgotten a significant chunk of the movies then you should watch them. Follow the white rabbit.

4. 21
This is a very interesting movie about a 21 year genius student at MIT trying to, at first, get a scholarship to Harvard then upon being told his chances are slim, decided to save up for it. He joined a professor led team of professional casino blackjack hackers. Everything about the movie's storyline is totally unpredictable and interesting till the end. And as usual, they threw in an above-his-league girl he's got a crush for. He gets the girl (I think too early into the movie and too easily too) and gets more than the money he wanted.

5. Total Recall
I can't totally recall the movie as it's been weeks ago I watched it but I do very well remember that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a great mind twisting story line and beautiful fighting ladies. Maybe I will watch it again before my subscription runs out.

6. Rush
This is hands down the most motivational movie I have watched this year. And I hear its based on a true story. I watched it with all seriousness that the effect it had on me are still fresh. You too should watch it and learn the live lessons it teaches us all.

7. Thor
Probably the third time I am watching it. Great movie and stunning perfect looking main actor. I still think he was videoshopped.

8. Hitch
One of the best romance movies out there. Though it is centered on the falsehood that women are predictable and you can get any woman you genuinely want, but if you overlook the unreal assumptions you'll thoroughly enjoy the movie. Last week was my second time of watching it. The first time was years ago.

9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Not a very great movie but the story line is a solid one and enjoyable one. It is about a man who hasn't done much all his life and then forced to go on an adventure. And with some love angle thrown in.

10. Hellboy
One shouldn't watch a movie with hell or devil in its title except the series Lucifer and this movie, Hellboy. I don't think I remember well the story line to coherently describe it but I do remember that it was a movie well worth the time spent watching it. I have also watched it thrice, which means it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

11. Salt
I only have a vague memory of what the movie is about but the rating is extremely high and I remember thinking its a great movie.

12. Jack Reacher
If you love a thrilling action movie, then this is that movie. An action thriller. Excellent story line too. 

image:tradingqna.com

I see too many people get the whole concept of interest rates wrong. They look at two investment options, look at the quoted interest rates and still pick the lower rate one while thinking they've picked the higher one.

Let's find out if you are one of them:
Which would you pick -- 6 months Treasury Bill at 16.67% or 1 year Treasury Bill at 17.20%?
Which loan is cheaper -- N5 million to pay N6 million in 6 months or N5 million to pay N6 million in one year?
Which loan is cheaper -- N1 million to pay back N1.2 million in 6 months or N1 million to pay back N1.4 million in one year; and like most personal loans you pay back in equal monthly chunks.

The last one is a trick question.

The correct answers are: pick 1 year Treasury Bill at 17.20%; N5 million to pay N6 million in one year; and N1 million to pay back N1.2 million in 6 months.

If you got the first two right, you have no problem. If you got all the answers, you should stop reading this article and go do something more productive with your time. If you got only one or got none of the answers, you should read this article with all seriousness.

Rule No 1
Interest rates should be considered over same time period whenever you are making comparison. Helps answer question number 2.

Rule No 2
Treasury bills, bank savings interest rate and all standard investment return rates are quoted in annual rate. This explains the answer to question number 1. Beware, though, of loan companies, they like to quote monthly rate and daily rate (in Nigeria).

Rule No 3
In the real world, all interest rates are compound interest rates. So when doing the calculations, always use compound interest rate calculations. That is the explanation for the answer to question 3.


If you always observe these rules in picking investments or loans, you will not make the mistakes I see people fall into.

image: pulse.ng

I have stopped reading what people post on social media about why we are where we are and what is wrong with everything. And the main reason is because it is an energy and time black-hole.

If the people who are elected to move the country forward aren't doing their jobs but spending all their energy diverting national resources for private benefits while feeding us with petty issues to brawl about, why should I waste my time trying to fix their mess or even discuss their mess. I am not God. You are not God. I don't have unlimited resources. You don't have unlimited resources. It's time you do what's good for yourself and forget about fixing divisive national issues.

IPOB.
Nigerian Army.
Boko Haram.
Lai Muhammed.
North Agenda.
South Agenda.
Ultimatums.

This past weekend I was in Abuja and tried to follow-up on a training project we are pursuing with one of the government agencies. I spoke with our inside man. He told me a lot of things. Last month, I was in same Abuja and discussed another long-tail training projects targeted at government ministries, departments and agencies. Again, I heard a lot of things. 

You want to know what was obvious from all what I heard?

Everyone in government is like a man with a hoe just trying to heap as much of the good things to his own side. They talk all sorts and argue in different directions publicly but right there in the offices they hold they all do the same thing -- that which personally favours them and not what they say out loud as good for the nation on the pages of newspapers or in public discussions.

Then there are those who waste away their lives on the temporal pages of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And some won't even stop there, they seek out real physical harm to themselves and others. They burn houses. They put themselves in harms way.

The people with the mandate and national resources to fix things are not, they are rather fanning old flames and starting new ones. Then some people have made themselves Captain Nigeria but without the right/authentic information and a proper avenue to fix things, they end up making bad situations get worse.

To you my friends, whom I care about, I will advice that you act like our politicians and government office holders, do what's good for you. Forget about fixing the country or making things fair for everyone. At least for now. With all the false information flying around and heavily reposted on social media, you might end up committing a greater crime than the one you seek justice for. Rather focus on yourself and your immediate family, then do what's good for you and your family.