How to be an authority in your field

Written by Azuka Onwuka
~Punch Nigeria. Tuesday, August 9, 2016. 
"A little learning is a dangerous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring" - Alexander Pope

Azuka Onwuka

Knowledge is critical to success in life. High flyers never get weary of learning. They never believe that they know enough. Therefore, they try to learn at every opportunity. Even as wise as he is known to be, Socrates is reputed to have said: "The only I know is that I know nothing."

They do not want to talk or operate from the standpoint of ignorance. So, they develop a voracious and undiscriminating appetite for information.

The result is that they are soon seen as authorities to be consulted in their field. The reason is that many people are too lazy to scratch beyond the surface. For example, even with an Internet-enabled phone, many people will prefer to call someone or send a message asking for the simplest of information that Google can supply in a second. Most people tend to assume that the so-called authorities know more than they actually do. And when a person is constantly consulted in his area of business, he will definitely succeed more and make more money.

Some people erroneously think that being an authority in a field is such a difficult matter. They think that they may never know much to be listened to in a particular field of knowledge. But everybody can become an "authority" by making a little effort.

Two experiences made me believe that once a person is determined, it does not take much effort and time to cross over from the sea of ignorance to the spring of knowledge. About a year before the 1994 World Cup in USA, I was not very knowledgeable in football technicalities. I loved football very well like most young Nigerian men, but I could not talk with any certainty who played what position in a match. I also knew little outside the Nigerian league. My condition was not helped too by the fact that I was outside Lagos before 1994, where I did not have access to much information as Lagos provides.

Male hairdressers: Why women prefer them

By Josephine Agbonkhese & Anino Aganbi
~Vanguard Nigeria. Thursday, June 23, 2016

Ugo Igbokwe, celebrity hairstylist

WHEN you think hairdressing, you naturally think women and nothing more. But that isn't the case anymore as more and more young men continue to give female hairstylists a real run for their money. A visit by Woman's Own to major hairdressing hubs around town proved this-and we're sure you've got proofs in your neighbourhood too.

Interestingly, these men do not require luxurious shops to steal the hearts of customers. With a make-shift salon of any kind, any female hairstylist who has got a shop near one of them either folds up in no time or branches into other trades to stay relevant and earn a living.

It however still remains a mystery how men would become better at dressing a woman's hair-a business that was traditionally female, than women themselves.

Attention to detail: But are they (men) actually better at hair making or is it all in the mind of women who are perhaps thrilled about having the opposite sex touch their hair? Why do customers swarm around them like bees to honey?"I think they pay more attention to detail.

That's where they beat female hairstylists. Women around me prefer them too. If you go to prominent hairstylists in Surulere in Lagos for example, you'll find that they are owned by men and also attract A-list artists and celebrities from across the country. In fact, one of the best hairstylists in Nigeria today is Ugo Igbokwe and he is male.

"One thing you also notice when you visit these salons owned by men is that women would prefer to queue up and wait for their male workers to make their hair rather than let their female workers who are probably less busy, make their hair," said Christie Anyanwu, a Lagos-based professional who resides in Surulere, an area of Lagos renowned for hair-making.Mubo Alade, a front-desk officer in a telecommunication firm in Lagos, also finds male hairdressers very intriguing.

The entrepreneur next door and mental health

Written by Babatunde Fajimi - Nigeria

Babatunde Fajimi 

When tomorrow comes, the world will observe October 10 on the United Nation's calendar as World Mental Health Day. We will spare some thoughts today for the entrepreneur next door. The entrepreneur next door is a metaphor for every Doe who owns a business venture but has mental health condition whether symptomatic or not.

Between entrepreneurs and mental health

Recently, experts established a correlation between entrepreneurship and mental health. Michael Freeman, a clinical professor of psychiatry and Sheri Johnson, professor of psychology conducted a scientific study on 242 entrepreneurs who founded or co-founded businesses across America. 72% of these entrepreneurs had mental health conditions.

Iconic entrepreneurs are humans

We love and envy iconic entrepreneurs. We rank them creators, innovators, makers and designers of civilizations, cultures, comfort and economic sustenance. At the height of recession in America in 2007, entrepreneurs generated 8 million new jobs. Developing countries survive because of the economic contributions of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Ironically, the iconic entrepreneurs are humans. They are the entrepreneurs next door. And, there is a dark side to entrepreneurship beyond the glitz and glamour. This makes the entrepreneurs next door vulnerable to mental health conditions than other people.

"Dignity in mental health"

The World Health Organisation has selected "Dignity in Mental Health" as the theme for this year's World Mental Health Day. Stakeholders have yet another opportunity to gather and create awareness about issues relating to mental health care to deconstruct myths and misconceptions about 'madness' among people of culture and religion as well as bridge the gaps between practice and reality.

How to get unclaimed dividends and process e-dividend in Nigeria

Written by Ugodre Obi-Chukwu - Nigeria

Website: www.nairametrics.com 

Twitter: @ugodre

Ugodre Obi-Chukwu

As an investor in shares it is very likely that you may have come across incidences of unpaid dividends either due to the dividend warrants getting expired or the dividend warrants never even getting to you at all. Recently, I embarked on a mission to get back some of my unclaimed dividends from yesteryears as well as ensure I never again miss out on my return on investments, otherwise called dividends. Here is a step by step guide of how I did it.

Get a list of all your shares: The first thing I did was to visit my stockbroker requesting for an updated list of all the stocks that I own in the Central Securities Clearing System. You can actually get this printed online yourself if you register with the CSCS. I also took a list of all the share certificates I have just to be sure my entire portfolio is accounted for.

Obtain a list of the respective registrar's for the stocks you own: Every company listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange has a unique registrar that manages their outstanding shares on their behalf. The registrars are mandated to manage all shareholder issues such as dividends, public offers, share certificates, bonus issues etc. on behalf of companies. Therefore if you are to get back your dividends you will have to know who your registrars are.

Sign a share transfer form: The stockbroker will give you a share transfer form for each of the shares you own. The form basically mandates the stockbroker to act as your agent, thus giving them the powers to process your unpaid dividends with your respective registrars.

This service typically requires a token fee depending on the stockbroker. The fees can be a flat amount or percentage of the dividends you are expecting. These all depends on the value of your dividends. The alternative will be for you to approach the registrars one by one by yourself just to get your unpaid dividends sorted out. This can be time consuming if you do not have the luxury of time for this. However, it does save you some fees which you would have paid to your stockbroker. This process can last within a month or more depending on the efficiency of the registrar and the commitment of your stockbroker. You will also need to follow them up very often to ensure that you get your dividends on time.

Starting a business in Nigeria

By Yinka Kolawole - Nigeria. 

There are successful stories of Nigerians who pursued their entrepreneurship dream,and their businesses are doing well despite the economic downturn.

The success stories of these entrepreneurs show that starting a business in Nigeria is do-able.

Cosmas Maduka is Chairman of Choscharis Group. He started his business journey from a humble beginning. After seven years of apprenticeship in selling motorcycle spare parts, his uncle gave him a token of N200 to start his own business in 1975. Today, he is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Another creative successful business owner is Cosmos Okoli, who has proven that starting a business in Nigeria and achieving success is do-able.

At the age of four and half years he had polio. He lost his limbs to the disease. He is making money by creating tools that help disabled people live a convenient life.

He is the chairman of Mobility Aids and Appliances Research and Development Centre (MAARDEC) and the chief executive of Cosokoli Ventures Nigeria Limited and Omokas Nigeria Limited.

Starting a business

Prince Samuel Adedoyin is the chairman/chief executive officer of Doyin Group of companies. He is another testimony to buttress that starting a business in Nigeria and succeeding is achievable. He started petty trading at age 14 with an initial capital of 48 pounds. With that token amount, his business grew to conglomerate of businesses which includes manufacturing, motor vehicle sales, real property investment, general merchandising, etc.

For Nigerian traders in Ghana, it's still no respite in sight

AJAYI OLUWAPELUMI in Ghana writes about the frustration of the affected Nigerians.

Nigerian traders in Ghana have been under pressure to move out by the local authorities at the instance of their Ghanaian counterparts. 

The year 2014 has no doubt being  one of turbulence and instability for Nigerian traders in 10 regions of Ghana, as the Ghana Ministry of Trade and Industry threatened to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, 2013 (Act 865) which prohibits foreign traders from trading in its 48 markets across the country.

Nigeria and other ECOWAS member countries are recognised by Ghana constitution as foreign.

In June this year, it was reported that thousands of members of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), both in the capital city of Accra and Ashanti region of Kumasi, turned up the pressure being mounted on the foreign traders, mostly Nigerians by locking up their shops.

The situation was, however, checked through the intervention of Ghana police, which saw the foreign traders return to their shops without hindrance.

However respite for the traders seemed short-lived as the ministry that has the power to eject the traders, in September, issued a 30-day ultimatum for all foreign traders to quit the local markets or else face eviction and be prosecuted in a court that will be set up to prosecute foreign retail traders.