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Showing posts from January, 2012

WELCOME TO CASHLESS NIGERIA

I just got an SMS from Vicky, about Mobile Money provided by MTN. As a typical Nigerian, the first point of call on the mobile money site for me was the Tariffs section. According to the tariff page , to deposit, register, buy airtime, check balance and pay bills is free. To withdraw by an unregistered customer is free as well as the accounts subscription, and SMS traffic generated by transactions. But after that, the charges start piling up: Mini Statement = NGN10. Registered customer's withdrawal of NGN3,000 and less will cost NGN50. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 will cost NGN100. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN6,001 and NGN9,000 will cost NGN150. Registered customer's withdrawal of above NGN9,000 will cost NGN200. To send to a Registered customer, it will cost you NGN50. To send NGN3,000 or less to an unregistered customer will cost you NGN120. To send between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 to an unregistered cus

Kill Corruption, not Subsidy

As I write, a revolution is ongoing in Nigeria. The Youth have finally woken up and realized that they cannot depend on the current 'elders' to secure their future. The youth have finally seen that they cannot just sit on their hands. But while we are all pointing fingers at the Senators, House of Rep members and the President's cabinet, we need to also look into ourselves. Are we also not corrupt? Are we clean? Are we sure it is not a case of the pot calling the kettle black? For those of us that might say, 'I am not corrupt', we need to really do a reality check. Corruption should be eradicated at ALL levels, from the nursery school child to the oldest Nigerian citizen. Here is a brief checklist - not exhaustive but it should clue you in:  - If you sell anything [from garri, to marykay, to land, to flash drives], and you make more than 50% profit margin[profit not selling cost o], YOU ARE CORRUPT.  - If you help someone to get a job, and you expect a p