Ebola Fever, Sales Of Hand Sanitisers Increase By %100 In Lagos

As the deadly Ebola virus continues to ravage lives in some African countries, some business men and women are making it big money from the sales of hand sanitisers in Lagos. In Lagos for example, market survey has shown that the prices of hand sanitisers have increased to about %100 as demands for the products by the residents of the state currently outweigh the supply.

A journey to the Ikeja City Mall shows that the products are not even available anymore and people keep scrambling for more, hence the increase in sales.

A worker in the mall who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity said they have no choice than to increase the prices because the demand is much; hence they have to apply the economy principle of supply and demand forces.

Also I cosmetic shop owner, in Ogba, Lagos, said he has sold over a thousand of different brands of hand sanitisers and he is now out of stock.

We indeed hope that as awareness creations continue to grow about this deadly fever; many Nigerians will increase their cautionary measure in order to avoid contracting the disease.

Why Toyota Car Brands Are Taking Over Nigerian Market

No matter how innovative and creative other car brands try to impress Nigerians, an average person in the country still has on top of the list of his love cars, TOYOTA. The question is why Nigerians keep going for the brand?

One of the major thing an average car buyer in Nigeria consider in making a purchase decision is not the car price as some car dealers are meant to believe. It is how economy the fuel consumption is, availability of spare parts/ affordability of such parts. Having sampled many peoples’ opinion and also used some car brands myself, I came to the conclusion that Toyota brand is one of the few car brands that have been able to provide that, hence the boost in sales of the brand in Nigeria.

Why Is Fuel Economy Important? The major reason is that, it saves You Money. An average car user in Nigeria is cost conscious. A fuel economy car can Save as much as $1,700 in fuel costs each year depending on how far and often you drive.

Another major factor is spare parts availability, every nook and cranny you go to in Nigeria, Toyota brand spare parts are everywhere in the market, unlike some brands that you need to ship in the parts from other country to get your car fixed. Also, Auto Mechanic always find it easy to fix Toyota cars. There is hardly a mechanic in Nigeria who cannot find their way around Toyota cars unlike some brands of cars in the country which require specialized Auto Mechanic with special training to get them back on the road when there are issues with them.

In a nutshell, it is important for car manufacturers to take into consideration all the aforementioned points in this article if they want to boost sales, especially in Nigeria.

How Price/Innovations Drive Sales In Nigerian Market

This might knock you off but I want to let you know that it is a result of my intensive research and personal study/observation of the market and the buying pattern by Nigerians. It is important as a sales person to know that the percentage of turnover determines profit most times. Therefore, understanding the factors that determine the decision making pattern by the people is crucial to any operator in the market space. Whether you are providing services, sales etc, one thing you must know is that, something attracts people to you. The question is, have you found out what that is?

Price is a major factor when an average Nigerian is making a purchase decision. For example, in the telecommunications sector, Globacom network, until recently was giving 75% bonus on any recharge, which can be used to call any network in Nigeria. The level of Airtime sales soared. Even me who happened to be on the network since inception, invested some money on recharge cards. Who doesn’t like free things?. Other communications Networks like Etisalat, Airtel have various incentives ranging from data bonus, free on-network calls etc. But one thing that is obvious is that, bonus or free services attract sales.

In the banking sector in Nigeria, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), with its innovations, pioneered what I call “quick banking” in Nigeria. I stand to be corrected, but GTB was the first bank in Nigeria that allowed customers to withdraw all deposited money to zero Naira and still maintains it till today. That act alone increased its customer base to an unimaginable level-power of free bees.

I also believe that with the introduction of DiamondXtra by Diamond Bank is also telling on the amount and frequency of deposit in the bank. Reports have it the bank has given out a lot of prizes to customers. This as far as am concerned is good for business.

It is worthy to note that an average Nigerian can walk some kilometres to buy something because of N5 difference in Price.

Another factor that is crucial to business success is customer service. Having been to many organisations in Nigeria myself, I have come to realise that customer service is close to Zero in Nigeria. Some customer care officers in the banking sector especially are very saucy and unfriendly. Some of them are so impudent and sometimes I ask myself why they are there.

The truth is that, any customer you are rude to, will avoid you/your organisation, tell thousands of friends to do same and before you know it; your business will go down. It is the truth. I personally know many organisations I will never go to and will not recommend anyone to do same. In the same vein, I have recommended many organisations for people and will continue to do so just because of good customer service. At this point, before a customer service officer is employ, it will be good to conduct what I call ATTITUDE EXAMINATION and anger status or level for such person. It is worthy to note that, one action of a customer service officer can run your business aground or make your business hit jackpot!

The question is what incentives are you giving, Service or discount?  Remember, discount without good customer service is useless. They both work hand in hand. Think about it.

DIAMOND BANK PLC TO RAISE N= 50.37 BILLION VIA A RIGHTS ISSUE

Arrangements for a Rights Issue by Diamond Bank Plc (“Diamond Bank” or “the Bank”), have now been concluded, following the approval granted by shareholders at the Bank’s Annual General Meeting held on 24 April 2014. A total of 8,685,145,863 Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each will be offered to the Bank’s shareholders in the ratio of 3 new Ordinary Shares for every 5 Ordinary Shares held as at 13 June, 2014 at N=5.80 per share. Final approvals for the registration and listing of the shares, from the Securities & Exchange Commission and The Nigerian Stock Exchange respectively are expected imminently. The Rights Issue is expected to on Wednesday, 30 July 2014 and close on Tuesday, 26 August 2014.

Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited (“Stanbic IBTC Capital”) is the Lead Issuing House while FBN Capital Limited (“FBN Capital”) is the Joint Issuing House to the Rights Issue.

At the Signing Ceremony held on Tuesday, 15 July 2014, the Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, Dr Alex Otti, disclosed that the net proceeds of the Rights Issue will be applied towards the development of the Bank’s IT infrastructure, working capital support and the expansion and refurbishment of the Bank’s business locations. Furthermore, the successful outcome of the Rights Issue should improve Diamond Bank’s tier 1 capital, thereby positioning it to take on bigger opportunities in the sector and ultimately increasing value for shareholders.

The Head of Stanbic IBTC’s Equity Capital Markets, Mrs Oyinda Akinyemi, commended the Management of Diamond Bank for their efforts towards ensuring that the Bank maintains its leading position in the sector and urged the Bank’s shareholders to seize the opportunity of the Rights Issue to show their confidence in the Bank’s potential for future growth. The Executive Director, FBN Capital, Mr Taiwo Okeowo reiterated that the Bank has considerable potential for long term growth, given its market share of the growing retail banking sector and is a good investment opportunity for shareholders.

The Rights Circular for the Issue, which contains a Provisional Allotment Letter and the Application/Renunciation Form, will be dispatched directly to each shareholder before the Rights Issue opens.

Not All CSR Projects Are Effective

I have watched with keen interest the way many individuals and some organisations go about executing brand promotions through CSR activities. Some, I have been impressed because of the effect and the way such projects are streamlined to affect the targets. Others, I have been greatly disappointed and many of many colleagues in the brand promotion world share my sentiments also.

My observation so far is that, many organisations embark on what I call, HAPHAZARD Promotions. What I mean is, they lack focus, target and reason/reasoning. I believe the essence of engaging or employing the services of professionals; both Public Relations and Advertising or the entire gamut of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is to provide the necessary professional touch to an organisation’s CSR/Advertising activities, but this is lacking in many organisations in Nigeria, despite the fact that they all have agencies they work with.

Although the agencies are most times not to be blamed because of this as industry observers /research have shown that most CEO’s in Nigeria embark on CSR activities base on either affiliations or personal interest without engaging the communication unit of their company.

For example, there is a popular Bank in Nigeria whose CSR projects don’t make much meaning, don’t get me wrong, the projects affect the community or the individual where such projects are done, but the big question is, what impact does it have on the brand?.

In the last few years, CSR has surged passed its tipping point. “A plethora of research points to a majority of stakeholders agreeing that CSR is a ‘must do’,” says Kristian Darigan Merenda, Edelman’s senior vice president of brand and corporate citizenship. According to Edelman’s 2010 Goodpurpose Study, 67% of consumers say they are more likely to buy products and services from a company if they know it supports good causes, up more than 11% from the year before.

As a key ingredient in business strategy and execution, CSR is playing a central role in helping corporations to be seen as leaders. Astute corporations are allocating increasing internal resources to CSR investments that feature clear objectives and deliver measurable social outcomes. This must be done the right way. There have been too many examples of CSR programs that ignore business fundamentals. Leadership-level CSR programs always directly reflect what the business is and what it does.

In a nutshell, organisations must begin to ensure that they have a well-structured CSR, Advert etc plan and this must be done by professionals if such organisation wants to get the expected feedback

Flyer Adverts, Not As Effective In Nigeria As Thought!

Walking around Lagos, the common thing you see are people sharing flyers in every nook and cranny of the state. Majority of the flyers carry Church and products advertisements. After a close observation, I realise that the people they distribute these flyers to do not even read or take them beyond where they were given. Some even dump it in the presence of the distributor without even glancing at the content.

Sometimes you see a lot of the flyers even dump around the person distributing it. I believe this has demystified the fact that the distributors are not aware that they are not being read because they see what they share littered around them always.

It is worthy of note that the distributors of the flyers most time, especially that of products are not the owner of the flyers, they are being contracted to share such flyers on behalf of their clients. So it is not in their interest to measure the effectiveness of such flyers.

It is therefore important for people who use flyers to promote their products to note that most of the flyers they distribute don’t get read, hence cannot generate the expected response.

Fraudsters Turn OLX Nigeria To Their Haven!

Online shopping all over the world is supposed to make life easy for shoppers who for one reason or the other do not have access to such products easily or are too busy to go shop in their preferred mall.

Due to the busy life in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, many have come to embrace online shopping to either save time or shop for so many things at a go in a spot without going through the hassle of moving from one place to the other. This has led to the spring up of such shopping online platforms in Nigeria.

However, with the advent of the site OLX Nigeria, where people can advertise their products for free has bring more pains to gullible Nigerians than the succour the founder intended to bring to the teaming population of Nigeria especially in major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Portharcourt.

Fraudsters have made the site their operation base. They sometime position themselves as custom officers who are auctioning contrabands seized goods by the Nigerian Customs. For example, in OLX, a vehicle with market value of N10 million Naira could be advertised for N300 thousand Naira. This is done to attract the prospect’s attention. When the prospect put a call through to the purported seller, he will be asked to pay some money into an account which they claim will be used as processing fees. Sometimes, the seller will ask anybody that call to make enquiry about the advertised products where he is calling from (location) so as to know where to claim he (The Seller) is base. This is to enable him request for more money in the name of DELIVERY fees. These fraudsters majorly claim to be in Badagry Lagos, Lagos Island West, Festac, Borny Island,Kubwa in Abuja, Apapa etc.

Many people have been swindled, some killed in the process of transactions. Fraudsters on this platform don’t only pose as sellers, some also pretend as buyers. Narrating his experience, Mr Adekunle Oyewole, who wanted to sell his car, was almost killed in Festac, Lagos. According to him, he advertised his car on OLX and someone told him to deliver the car at a location in Festac which he did. On getting there, the car was forcefully taken from him including his phones and other gadgets. He was tied and according to him, the assailants were contemplating killing him but one of the thieves said he should be freed after he was beaten to coma and stripped naked.

The story of Mr Adekunle is one in thousands as many people fall victim to these swindlers daily on OLX.

Although, there are also genuine advertisers and buyers on OLX because a colleague of mine has ordered a laptop on the platform and it was delivered after which she paid in cash.

It is important to note that, when shopping for anything on OLX, do not pay any money to anybody in any form until you see what you are paying for and it is clear to you that it is genuine, not stolen. Meet the person in a public place.

In developed countries, the same OLX is very effective and genuine like E-bay and every other online platform, but many unscrupulous elements in Nigeria have turned it to an avenue to steal and exploit. Is there anyway the site owner can regulate the activities of users? I think they should think about it.

                                   

BE CAREFUL!

South African Airways Remains Best Airline In Africa

South African Airways (SAA) has been named Best Airline Africa for the twelfth consecutive year. Feedback from SAA’s customers also ensured that SAA walks away with the Best Airline Staff Service Africa

award for the third time. The awards were presented at the Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony in London.

“The fact that these awards are directly based on customer surveys makes them the benchmarks of airline excellence,” says Monwabisi Kalawe, CEO of SAA. “Customers are undoubtedly the heartbeat of any business, and Excellent Customer Service is one of the five strategic

objectives of our long-term turnaround strategy, Gaining Altitude: to be rated so highly by our customers testifies that we are on the right flight path.”

The awards are based on a consumer satisfaction survey conducted each year by Skytrax, an independent aviation research organisation. This year, the survey elicited responses from 18-million business and leisure air travellers from 160 countries, covering more than 200 airlines, from the largest international airlines to smaller domestic carriers.

The online survey is open for a 10-month period, giving passengers an opportunity to rate their experience in the air and on the ground. It  measures satisfaction across 41 key performance indicators of airline front-line product and service, including check-in, boarding, on-board seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, inflight entertainment and staff service.

“SAA is the airline with the most awards across the whole of Africa; for example, in January we retained the Skytrax 4-Star Airline ranking, for the 12th year in a row. SAA is the only carrier on the African continent to achieve this high level 4-Star Airline rating, which certifies the good quality of the service we offer across all travel categories,” concludes Kalawe. “But to be singled out directly

by our customers is worth everything to us, and a great foundation on which to build an even better airline.”

Early in May, the youth of South Africa voted SAA as the ‘Coolest’ Domestic Airline as part of the 2014 Sunday Times Generation Next Awards. The award ceremony, held in Johannesburg, saluted South Africa’s most popular brands, products, celebrities and sport stars – as voted for by the country’s eight to 22-year olds.

Nigerians Unnecessary Obsession With Phones/Gadgets

Research has shown that an average gadget user in Nigeria does not use 10% of total inbuilt functions of either his or her phone, tablet, ipad etc, yet phone manufacturers constantly attract attention of many to their products with increase in functions.

Using of phones/gadgets in Nigeria is more of a social status than funtionability. A female friend in my office once labelled me as an achaic person because of the kind of phone i was using at that ime. I told her i dont see the need of investing about N110 thousand Naira to buy a phone when the only and major thing i will do is chat with friends and receive E-mail with it when i can get a lesser phone that will do the same functions at a cheaper price. Research has further shown that Nigerian girls are attracted to guys who have gadgets of high price and not neccessarily functon quality, hence the craze for expensive phones.

I once ran into a friend while driving from the office,we  met during NYSC in the Northern part of Nigeria and four years after the service, we met again.During our conversation, my friend said he has been looking for job for the past four years but has not been able to find one and he has since being roaming the street of Lagos with the hope that luck will one day shine at him. I looked at his hands, guess what?, he was holding two huge sophisticated phone with market value at that time of about 80 to 100 thousand Naira each.Having lost phone contact for long, he asked for my number and i gave him my phone to type his number because i was on the wheel.To my astonishment, my friend reaction was, “how will you be using this kind of phone?,no babe will date you with this kind of phone” i laughed without saying a word, but im my head i was saying, here is a guy looking for job and you are carrying two phones which values are enough to start a small business, yet he does not know.

The problem with many Nigerians is that, we  buy things not  because we need them, but  to impress others.These range from cars, where we live, choice of career, spouse etc.these attitudes  have done a lot of harm than good. Today,people do  many unscropulus things just to keep up with the JONSES.The results of this are, unhappy and fake life which leads to bashed dreams.

Let me say that, anybody that will love you will always do, not because of what you have but because of you.

For example, a lady looking to get married to a man with RANGE ROVER car is only looking for a RANGE ROVER that has a man. When the RANGER ROVER is no more, there will be no relationship.

If you live a fake life, you will end up attracting fake people who will further destroy your life with your help.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in buying expensive gadget, but the question is, do you need them, if yes go ahead and buy, utilise them for  good purposes .

In a nutshell, let us buy what we need, do what make us happy, live our life without trying to impress because God created you a unique person. To every man, there is a purpose for which you were created and you alone can fulfill that purpose. If you let other people shape your life, you may miss your purpose and end up a photocopy instead of original. What is influencing your choices in life?....

Mandela’s legacies well preserved in the new Nelson Mandela Museum

To give a true overview of Nelson Mandela in all phases of his life, from his youth in Qunu to his role as statesman, the museum built in his honour comprises three separate structures: the Bhunga Building in Mthatha, the Qunu component and an open-air museum at Mvezo, where Madiba was born. 

The Nelson Mandela Museum is situated on the N2 highway in Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. It promises visitors a memorable cultural experience and insight into the life of Nelson Mandela, with guided tours and a heritage trail that follows his in his footsteps.

Comprising three separate locations, the Nelson R. Mandela Museum consists of the Bhunga Building in Mthatha, the Qunu component and an open-air museum at Mvezo. The historic Bhunga (translated loosely as council or caucus) building accommodates an exhibition tracing Nelson Mandela’s journey, as told in his own words, and narrated in part from his acclaimed biography A Long Walk to Freedom. It also showcases a diverse selection of the gifts bestowed on South Africa’s most-beloved statesman, Madiba, during his presidency.

From here visitors can visit Mvezo, Mandela's rural birthplace, to gain an understanding of his humble beginnings. Born into a chiefly lineage within the Tembu people, his inkaba (umbilical cord) is buried here in accordance with Xhosa tradition, and it is where his father was stripped of his authority by the apartheid government and forced to flee while Mandela was still an infant.

From there he proceeds to Qunu, where his family took refuge and he spent his childhood. Here he assumed a Christian name, Nelson, in place of his Xhosa name Rolihlahla (which means shaking the branches of a tree, or trouble maker), as was the custom at the missionary-run school he attended. He spent his boyhood here diligently doing herd-boy duties and playing in the river.

The Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre is located at Qunu and comprises the second component of the Nelson Mandela Museum. This unusual heritage tour allows visitors to ‘meet’ Madiba the man, activist, father, liberation struggle hero and former president.

Drake 'Playaz Club' Beef Settled Pays $100K for Borrowed Lyrics

Drake just paid a ton of respect to Rappin' 4-Tay -- in the form of cold, hard cash -- to settle a beef in which 4-Tay claimed Drizzy jacked his rhymes.

4-Tay first put Drake on blast when YG's hit "Who Do You Love" came out. Drake drops lyrics on the song that are clearly ripped straight from 4-Tay's 1994 hit "Playaz Club." 

4-Tay was offended Drake didn't give him credit on the song. No lawsuit was ever filed, but sources close to the situation tell us a very lucrative agreement was reached.

4-Tay's manager tells TMZ ... Drake's record label agreed to pay 4-Tay $100,000 for "borrowing" the lines.

Not shockingly ... 4-Tay tells us he's no longer offended.

This Lady Paid R300 000 For Surgery To Look Like Kim Kardashian

Claire Leeson, a resident of Essex in England has revealed that she's spent about $30 000 (or over R300 000) getting surgery to modify her face and body so she looks like Kim Kardashian. She was interviewed on ITV's "This Morning" show and spoke candidly about the work she's gotten done. "I've had my teeth whitened, then I wanted my boobs enhanced. I also wear bum padding!" (of course)

More shocking however is the fact that Claire can't even afford all the procedures she's had done and now she's in serious debt and is being threatened by creditors! "I work, my job doesn’t pay enough" she says. "I’ve used credit cards to pay for everything. I’m in major debt. I say that I’m going to pay them but as soon as money comes in I just think about getting my Kimmy on,"

"When I get my Kimmy on I feel like I’m unstoppable and untouchable. I feel strong … and I feel that I have built enough confidence to love myself a little bit more.” What do you think of Claire's drastic transformation? Would you ever get work done or model you look after someone famous?

Gunmen Abduct German in Adamawa - PREMIUM TIMES.

Gunmen riding on motorcycles, Wednesday morning, abducted a German in Gombi town of Adamawa State.

The incident occurred at about 7 a.m. at Anguwan Faransa area of the town, residents told PREMIUM TIMES.

The man, who is said to be the principal of a technical skill acquisition centre in the town, was abducted on his way to work.

A resident of the town, who asked not to be named for security reasons, informed PREMIUM TIMES that the man, whose name he gave as Mr. Nachi, is a very popular figure in the town.

“The abductors laid siege on his house, and they came on motorcycles. As soon as the man came out and was about to get into his car, two persons on foot approached him and pointed a gun at him. They now called the two other sets of people on motorcycles who approached them and they carried him away on their motorcycle,” the witness said.

“Almost everybody in this town knows him because he helps us a lot, especially in the area of repairing the town’s water bore holes. Most of the time he uses his own money to buy equipment and repair our boreholes,” he added.

He also said Mr. Nachi trains students on technical and vocational skills free of charge.

The German Embassy in Abuja when contacted over the telephone said it was not yet aware of the incident.

“The press officer is not yet in, but at this end we are not aware of something like that,” an official of the embassy told PREMIUM TIMES on phone.

The embassy also promised to get back with information as soon as it is available.

The spokesperson of the police in Adamawa State, Othman Abubakar, who said he was in a meeting and could only communicate via text messages, is yet to respond to an inquiry at the time of this report.

Adamawa is one of three states under emergency rule due to the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.

Toddler Saves Elderly Man Locked Inside Hot Car

A fast-acting 3-year-old came to an elderly man’s rescue in Tennessee after he spotted the man trapped inside a hot car as temperatures inside the vehicle reached over 120 degrees.

While waiting for his wife to come back from an event at the Vestal Baptist Church in Knoxville last Saturday, Bob King, 68, found himself trapped in his car after the doors automatically locked.

“We’ve been having trouble with the door on this car since we bought it,” King told ABC News.

After numerous cancer treatments and having suffered from two strokes in the past six months, Bob King was described as “in very bad shape” and “could barely see anything” by his wife, Jenny King.

He frantically grabbed the car door, but was too weak to push it open. King panicked. Without a car key, he couldn’t turn the air conditioning on. It was 91 degrees outside that day -- and the temperature inside the car had reached over 120 degrees.

That’s when King spotted 3-year-old Keith Williams walking past the car. King knocked on the car window repeatedly and Keith stopped.

“I hollered at him and he just looked at me kind of funny and I said ‘Get help, get help,’” King said.

Coincidentally, Keith’s mother, Jessie Williams, had educated him about hot car safety just days before this happened. The toddler, who was barely three feet tall, was not strong enough to open the car door by himself. So he ran over to Pastor Jack Greene, who was volunteering at the benefit event, to get help.

“I was talking to someone and little Keith came behind me and kept saying, ‘Locked, locked, locked,” Greene told ABC News.

Greene didn’t sense something was wrong, but then Keith started patting and pulling his hand, and kept saying “hot, hot.”

“I told the gentleman: ‘Excuse me for a minute’ and I followed him [Keith] out,” Greene said. “When I saw Bob in the car, I said to myself: “Oh my Lord,’” Greene said.

After a few tries, Greene finally opened the door. As soon as the door opened, King fell out of the car seat and almost hit his head on the pavement. “His whole body was raining sweat. His face was red like a pickled beet,” Greene said.

“I asked him three times: ‘Are you OK Bob?’” Greene said. Scared that King would get a stroke, Greene asked if he needed an ambulance. “Just give me a minute,” King told Greene.

Greene brought King inside the church where there was air conditioning, fed him water and fanned him until King looked better.

King said he would have had waited for another 20 minutes before his wife came back, and he is thankful that Keith, or “little preacher” as Greene lovingly called him, came to his rescue.

“I am very impressed and I’m proud that he would know what to do,” Keith’s mother, Jessie Williams told ABC News.

“He [Keith] said: ‘I saved life’ after I brought Bob inside,” Green said. “He is such a good kid. He is an inspiration and blessing to us.”

AGN President, Ibinabo Set For Marriage At 43

The embattled President of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, AGN, Ibinabo Fiberesima says she has found love and will settle down with her ‘Mr. Right’ in Port Harcourt, Rivers state before the end of the year.