Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Three feet high and rising...

I hear that a new entrant in the GSM space is dangling N40m carrots to poach from the existing competitors. Meanwhile, the banks are paying N40-N45m for bright young things to come home - that's UK190k or nearly US$400k! Nigeria has joined the global hunt for talent, pushing demand ever further beyond supply, with salary costs chasing the tail. I hear that one of the top banks actually forced a pay cut on its lower ranks a short while ago - probably so they could hire more big guns. Again, a friend is looking to rent in Ikoyi. It appears there is nothing available under US100k per year. Haba. Who can live in Lagos these days with high class and low class slums as far as the eye can see?

17 comments:

onydchic 10:42 am  

Really? Can't really agree with you on the banks paying all that cash for the 'bright young things' to come home. Just take my word for it. Top bank slashing pay? To me, one of the biggest WhYS of 2007.
But I have to agree with you on the cost of housing. Unfortunately there's this great flow of greed going on nowadays. Everyone's building high-rise buildings and expensive palatial housing ... what about the middle and lower class? Where are they supposed to live? Its a case of two extremes, pay a huge fortune or live in a slum. A lot of things need to change.

Ope,  10:53 am  

Is it visafone or Etisalat ? Tell me now. Which bank? I am very interested o ....

Anonymous,  11:40 am  

Hi Jeremy,

Please kindly provide more information on the banks and requirements if possible. With such lucrative offers one may be tempted to come home to test the waters. :) Thanks.

Iyaeto 3:03 pm  

I've always told my friends. It's not a must that one lives in Lagos. There are othere areas outside Lagos that are more peaceful where land and houses are cheaper. e.g Epe, Ikorodu etc.How can I spend so much money on a house. Na waa o.

Nijawife 4:51 pm  

Make i forward my CV to you as i no mind to get paid that kind of a pay-40M/50M,thats cool pay.I have the right skill,qualification and experience in Banking.

Anonymous,  1:33 am  

i 5m% agree with Ope. abeg tell me noww oooo. i go pack up sharp sharp back to naija. ASAP.

and i hope some of these job offers are in jigawa, yobe, nassarawa on a serious note i might even settle for Abuja (despite its own extortionate rents) but i'm not willing to spend all my salary (400k - God damn!) on rent.

femi 1:55 am  

dude please.

london is a slum as well.

Anonymous,  10:29 am  

you really shouldn't be posting hear say. No be only 40m, na 100m.
To agree with femi, any large city has its slums.

Mr C 11:50 am  

I agree with Femi. London is a slum.
Dr J, you just touch my soft spot. I think I might have to burst open here.

I personally feel this drive has no rational backing.Don't think I have some personal vendetta against Nigerian that move back home. I moved back myself. But the implication to the wider economy is what we should consider.
Sourcing for overseas expertise has to be done with care especially when the bulk of the working population leave in abject poverty. (My personal question: What productive use can they be put to?)
There are many directions which an argument on the issue could go. People could say that their knowledge could help bring sanity to the sector within which they operate. That I believe would have been possible if Nigerian universities churned out graduates that that add value in way consistent with what operates everywhere else. There is also the fact that the environment are different;limited understanding result in limited ability to make a change.
It could also be said that the consumerism nature of the West could force them to spend heavily on locally produced goods (providing a demand that will create the need for job creation). I strongly disagree with that.

A rational drive would focus on increasing the output and productive capabilities of Nigerians in Nigeria. Why do we have to import (Human Resources) when we already have in excess the raw material (large workforce) to produce what we need?

Jeremy 12:05 pm  

Can we get this Lagos/London slum issue clear: a slum is an urban area that fails to provide amenities (water, power, sanitation) that are adequate/sufficient for a large population. Even in Ikoyi, there is scant water and electricity and open drains. It therefore deserves the appelation of an 'expensive slum' (not my term). In sharp contrast, where in London is there a lack of water, a lack of electricity, or inadequate sanitation?

Lagos needs a new master-plan and billions of euros spent on it before even patches of it recover from their current slum status.

Anonymous,  12:25 pm  

Dr J,
A slum is not limited to the definition you have given it ..
I have just gotten this definition from dictionary.com
–noun 1. Often, slums. a thickly populated, run-down, squalid part of a city, inhabited by poor people.
2. any squalid, run-down place to live

Some parts of London fit into this definition my friend ... Have you been to Dalston? Areas around the Camden Market are also like this...
I take your point though about Ikoyi but I would argue anyday that there are also slums in London...

Anonymous,  1:44 pm  

I got an offer from Procter and Gamble in Ibadan to return for a salary of 40 million naira. Considering that I am from Ibadan and still an undergraduate finishing in June, I thought it was a good offer. Until I realized (after reading the fine print) what a career dead-end it was: no responsibility for young engineers, no plans for graduate reimbursement of any kind. In other words, I was just going to be another one of their Ivy-league-figure-heads. Tufiakwa! I did not spend four years of my life woking for a career dead end!

Mr C 3:15 pm  

Anonymous 1:44 PM, are u sure you did not mean to say N4 million?
I know P&G like the back of my hand. We manage a bulk of their logistics in Southern Nigeria.
And they do not pay undergraduates that well (unless you are looking at senior management level).

FDK,  9:21 pm  

A personal friend of mine just moved back home to work for P&G for 20 million Naira(w/o tax). She's also getting a car and driver, housing and all the perks. That's not a bad deal at all. I must add that she just graduated from Wharton business school though.

onydchic 4:02 pm  

P&G paying so much for an undergrad just COS he schooled abroad? We need to reassess here.

Anonymous,  6:57 pm  

P&G 40million for an undergraduate/fresh graduate. lailai. Not even at gunpoint. Not even 4million. Not even Mobil will pay 40million for a fresh graduate. If you want that kind of money as a fresher, then ritual killing might be your only option...

Anonymous,  4:28 am  

6.57 lollloll.
your too funny.
ritual killing?? loll
i cudnt let that go!

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