Alaramma

Aisha went to open a bank account for her daughter who has just gotten admission into a university. Some of the KYC requirements, among other things, was to submit a utility bill, or a rent receipt. However, Aisha lives in her own house, she pays electricity and water bills online, from her bank account. This is a serious challenge to most parents, and Nigerians desiring to get involved in the traditional banking system in Nigeria. "I can't remember the last time I saw a utility bill receipt", Usman told me. He does all those transactions online. His bankers normally sends him statements of account at the end of every month. All he does is print them and keeps for records purposes, or when 'NEPA' or water board people come around. In Nigeria, we take 3 steps at good policies, and 4 steps reversal. At the heart of all this policies confusion is the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). With the advent of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), the issue of submitting a ut...

After I wrote a scathing remark about police brutality, abduction and extortion, a good Nigerian, perhaps a police man, sent this advisory note to me. Go through and see if the contents of the advisory made sense in regard to happenings around Lagos. Mind you, this advice only states total compliance by civilians and it did not state how civil the police itself should conduct itself while doing its statutory work. READ ON: 1. For your own good, whenever law enforcement agents ( whether in uniform or not) stop a vehicle you boarded, stay calm, avoid hissing and grumbling. Whether you are a man or a woman, respect them. 2. Please take the receipts of your electronic equipment, laptop or other bulk gadgets (original or photocopy), anywhere you go if you must carry them. 3. If you don't have means of identification from your school or workplace, get at least a national ID card or driver's licence. It is crucial. 4. Delete all your bank alerts, and transfer sensitive i...

I was waiting for my order in Yahuza suya when one bulgy Igbo man sauntered in. He paid and collected and order number. He sat besides me and immediately started complaining of the pending long wait. His number was 77, mine was 63. As we all waited the man became impatient. He called one of the attendants. "You people don't do PDP here?", he roared at the attendant. "I will give you N500 if you can get our orders, me and my bros here", he pointed at me. Minutes later our orders arrived, money exchanged hands and we left. As we head to the car park, I asked him, "so this is what the PDP does?" He launched into a long tirade. The PDP is known to cut corners, circumvent rules, encourage dishonesty, 'godfatherism', and many negative antics that finally led the party down the drain. Today, party faithfuls of the APC are becoming anxious at the path the party is heading, with many fingers being pointed at the National party Chairman, Adams Oshiom...

I know Barrister Mohammed Bello Mustapha to be a Buharist right from the birth of Buharism as a political ideology in 2002. He was the number one "errand boy" in The Buhari Organisation (TBO) secretariat at Gana Street, Maitama, before it relocated to Ahmadu Bello Way, Abuja. He served in the TBO along side eminent personalities like late AVM Mukhtar Mohammed, Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma, Engr Buba Galadima, Mr. Sam Ndah Isaiah, Hajiya Naja'atu Bala Mohammed among others. Barrister Mustapha was the youngest in the secretariat, hence he was the National Youth Leader of TBO, while Hajiya Naja'atu was the National Women Leader. These people were the first set of promoters of Buharism as a political ideology in Nigeria. From All People's Party (APP), to All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), to Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), to All Progressives Congress (APC), Barrister MB Mustapha remains a loyal Buharist. Barrister Mustapha was the originator of the whole ide...

"The Illuminati wasn't always just some crazy chimera- it used to be a very real group with ambitious goals. And even though it doesn't exist anymore, the fact that many people still have paranoid beliefs about it reveals a lot about power". This conversation has lasted for more than 300 years and has refused to go away meant that there's something about power and control that is deeply rooted at the heart of men. Even without the Illuminati, your wife would want to control you, your friends wants to influence you, your parents wants to shape your destiny. All these are the core philosophical values of the Illuminati; and while in power, they could influence political decisions of governments. These shadowy groups, Illuminati and Freemasons, are no longer operating in shadows. In fact, they are even recruiting members online! And the fall out for such groups have created similar cults around the world whose intentions vary, but the end result is control. The...

I don't know when exactly I became a ferocious reader. I can not also say pointedly at what time my interests shifted to reading; not that type of reading where you devour a 300 page  novel in a day. I mean serious ones like...oh you have to pay me to make sense out of your lives. I stumbled into some disturbing statistics about Adamawa State. Months before now, Kaduna State had made headlines about policies that had resolved the State-local government joint account imbroglio. Structured policies have created tons of interested citizens hungry for ICT skills, this has created many I.T hubs across the State. And recently, the Governor himself proudly announced a 72.24% and only 27.76 represented recurrent expenditures for the 2020 fiscal year, meaning that the cost of governance has been pruned to allow more for developing infrastructure and other needed projects. The first time in the history of the country. Most astounding is Kaduna state clinching the top spot for 'enforcin...

My nine year old son came to me one evening after dinner and asked me to give him my phone. He often does that when he gets lost on his homework; google is his good companion. However, that evening request was different. The boy wanted to google my name so that he can find out what people think about me, his father! The world has become an open field of information, whatever you do will stick on the Internet for generations yet unborn. How would a father explain to his son over sex-for-grades scandal on which he was caught soliciting for sex on camera? How will a father explain to his son over a video he was caught slapping a woman in a sex-toy shop? Some of these things will never go away. Our children will surf the net one day and would be faced with our horrendous activities of shame. Not only in the field of open source of information, our people are becoming better at judging of character and profiling. As a public figure, your worst nightmare is to be reminded of a guilt-buri...

Bank Verification Number (BVN) is one of the best things that has happened in the banking ecosystem of Nigeria. "The Central Bank of Nigeria through the Banker’ Committee and in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria on February 14, 2014, launched a centralized biometric identification system for the banking industry tagged Bank Verification Number (BVN)." The purpose of the project, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), is to use biometric information as a means of first identifying and verifying all individuals that have account(s) in any Nigerian bank and consequently, as a means of authenticating customer’s identity at point of transactions. BVN have proven to hinder corruption and money laundering in the financial system. This novel idea can be replicated over several sectors of the Nigerian economy to further protect people, enhance tracking system, financial inclusion, expansion of tax as well as reduce poverty levels. The use of technolog...

The most urgent and critical need of a poor person ranges from jobs, education, access to health facility and care, affordable decent housing, renewable energy, clean water and food. Global poverty index claimed that about 2.7 billion people are in dire need of these life saving products and services. In theory, these can not be affordable by a poor person whose earning is below $2 (N700) a day. Development economists are pushing an unorthodox approach to ending global poverty. Traditionally, governments are at the core of providing for these services. However, the costs kept expanding and poverty is consistently escalating, especially in third world countries. Paul Polak and his co-travellers advocated for "market-based solutions to poverty and advocates for big business to target the poor" at the bottom of the pyramid. Paul Polak, who five years ago published the book Out of Poverty: What works when traditional approaches fail, has written a second book with Mal Warwi...