NEPA/PHCN: Making Promises since 1985

Yesterday marked another historic day in Nigeria as the President gave another remarkable speech to the nation. He talked about many things, encouraged many Nigerians, changed a name and stepped on many toes.

I particularly took note of his comment on 'power'. It was the height of political speech craft. It goes thus; "by mid 2010 power generation was at an all time low of 2,800 Mega Watts but by the end of 2011, power generation peaked to 4,000 Mega Watt".

I was tempted to ask, "sir, what is Nigeria's power generation at the moment?" Because for me, that is what really matters. For a country like Nigeria which has the 7th largest population in the world and has power generation rating as 70th in the world according to the CIA world fact book, it is a sad story especially with our rich supply of natural and human resources.

I guess, we all are tired of the mediocre way in which our power sector is being run. Nigerians want results and not excuses or mere promises.

Power is important for business. Majority of the businesses in Nigeria have power as their biggest operating expense. This is not right for a country that craves development. We must take our destiny into our hands and make our country work. Making 24 hours consistent power a reality is something our heroes past would greatly appreciate and not just naming monuments after them.

Power must work in Nigeria and Mr. President, it is your responsibility.

Follow on Twitter  @segundada

A Saving Culture

It's never too early to learn about money and the importance of financial responsibility. Strong financial values now can lead to high dividends later on in life. 

Savings
It takes money to pay for the things you want. One way to make sure you always have money is to start saving a part of the money you receive. Whether it's your allowance, or birthday or holiday gift money, saving a piece of what you receive is a great way to make sure that you have money set aside for that extra-special thing you really, really want.

When you put your money into a savings account at the bank, it will be kept in a safe, or vault, to keep it protected from fire, bank robbers and other dangers. It will also be insured, so if anything did happen to it, you will still have your money available. Even better, money in a savings account will earn additional money called interest. One of the ways banks make money is by charging people to borrow money. The money that the bank charges is also called interest. The interest rate is the percentage of the amount of money being borrowed. The money that the bank lends comes out of the savings account people have with the bank (including yours). When banks use your money, they pay interest for the money they are borrowing from you.
The longer you keep your money in a savings account, and the more money you put in, the more interest you will earn.

The best way to succeed at saving is to have a goal. Keep that goal always in your mind and remind yourself of the benefits of accomplishing that goal. Be disciplined, make yourself a promise and stick to it. Successful people do this all the time. Do not eat your future today, adopt a saving culture. And use a Bank..

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT - A Speech by Segun Dada

Professor Schmit, a German geologist was on a boat in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria to do a personal study of the effects of crude oil pollution on marine and human life. The boat was driven by an indigene named Bralador. 

While in the boat, he suddenly picks up a leaf and asks, do you know anything about biology? Bralador answers no, he tells him, you have lost 25% of your life. He then picks up a rock and asks, do you know anything about geology?  He answers no, he then says, you have lost another 25% of your life. He again picks up a decomposed piece of wood and asks, do you know anything about chemistry? His answer is again no, he then says you have lost 75% of your life and just while he is about to pick his next specimen, a storm arose and Bralador stands up and asks, sir, do you know how to swim in the waters of the Niger Delta? Professor Schmit answers no, Bralador shakes his head and says, Professor, you have just lost 100% of your life.

 

An international productivity consultant by name David Allen said “You can do anything, but not everything.” But through life, we have learned that individually, we know many things but collectively, we know all things.

That is life as we know it

Lawyers know life through the rigour of charging and bailing

Bankers through withdrawals and deposits

Doctors through admission and prescription

Preachers through evangelism and conversion

Professors through thesis and lectures

Toastmasters through speeches and evaluation

Through all of this, we get to understand that we are what we are not because of what we do but we do what we do simply because of what we know.

That is life as we know it.

We live in a world with 7 continents, over 250 countries, speaking hundreds of thousands of languages and a population of over 7 billion people but its not these numbers that get to me but the capacity of these numbers because as I wrap up my speech,

3.4 million Blogs would have been updated

10.2 million Comments would have been entered on Facebook

151 million Tweets on Twitter

3.14 billion Searches would have been entered on Google

320.2 billion Emails would have been sent

All of these by less than a quarter of the world’s population.

Now, that is life as we know it.

Life is Tough. We start out as sperm cells racing towards an egg, then become kids and assume the title of “commander in chief of family forces” having everyone in the family at our beck and call depending on how well we can cry. We then struggle as teenagers to discover ourselves, then as young adults we hustle to stand out from the crowd, then we get into the world of work and bustle to the top, then in our ripe old age, we mingle so as not to die.

Life is an Opportunity. Like a coin, it can be spent in anyway, on anything, on anyone, anyhow but can be spent only once.

Life is Precious. It is not the amount of breath that we take that matters but the amount of moments that take our breath away. The birth of a child, the day a man says I do and kisses his beautiful bride, the achievement of a goal and the fulfilment of a dream.

Life must be Lived and not feared. Marriane Williamson wrote in her book titled A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure, we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Actually, who are you not to be? ...We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us but in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously permit others to do same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”

Ladies and gentlemen, this is life as we know it.

Speech given by Segun Dada at the Toastmasters Speech Competition

Willingness To Pay

As I tried to find out what willingness to pay really is and calculate the willingness to pay for an extrusion equipment manufacturing company named Husky (A Strategy Mgt. class assignment), I stumbled on this picture.

The old man did not seem willing to pay for the iStuffs, but he paid #endofstory

Apple is one of the leading value creatures and capturers in the mobile technology industry.

Little wonder it is one of the worlds most valuable company. Its one thing to create value and an entirely different ball game to capture it (create the willingness to pay). Successful companies should lead at creating such willingness.

A person's willingness to pay for a product shows the amount he or she attaches to it. His or her willingness to pay for one more unit of the product is thus the measure of the benefits the extra unit of the product gives him or her. As a result, the term "willingness to pay".

Well for peace to reign in this house, the man had better continue to be willing to pay..

A case for Value and its cost.

When I first saw the woman complain about how her husband committed suicide with her new scarf....for me, it was not funny but on a second thought I realised that people Value different things in different ways and for different reasons.

It is the term Value that should define the reason for doing business in the first place. Businesses sell Value which comes at a cost. So the goal should be to create the best Value at the least possible cost.

It is important to note that there are drivers for value and cost. Lets call them the components that affect the cost of the product and its perceived value. For example, humans "value" a drug because it can cure a terminal illness, but to produce the drug, it costs the pharmaceutical company billions of dollars in research and development.

It is very important for business people to identify the drivers for value and cost. For Value, it is good health to the dieing patient which is priceless but to a limit of affordability. For cost, it is amount and time invested in research and development which is eventually mitigated by production of large volumes at cheap rates while ensuring that the drug is patented.


 People pay for Value; Organisations survive when costs are low.