Sats

[Akin Akinwale @mrlurvy]

Is it the akara business that suddenly became derogatory, or should the First Lady simply have said petty traders so people could pretend not to know what she meant?

The outrage is expected, especially on this app where some people can make a career out of fooling. After all, you can spend two weeks doing that on X, Elon Musk pays you, and if you are fortunate, a brand pays you for influencing.

The truth is, our realities are different. Not everyone starts with an office, investors, and a business plan. The real problem is that too many people have been conditioned to believe that starting small is somehow shameful. That mindset is exactly why so many brilliant ideas never leave the notebook, they keep waiting for the perfect time to start.

There is dignity in honest labour, whether you are selling akara or running a multinational company. Every big business was once a small one.

And before anyone jumps to conclusions, I am not a petty trader. Saying there are petty traders does not mean I am one. It simply means I recognise that millions of people earn an honest living that way, and there is absolutely nothing derogatory about it.

[Ilemona @I_Am_Ilemona]

I remember a story of Tayo Aderinokun, the late former MD of GTB, getting onto the elevator at Plural House and seeing a member of staff who'd lost a parent crying on the elevator. He changed course, escorted her to her car and calmed her down before she left. He then got her number from HR and called to check in with her. A few days later she received an alert of his contribution to her parent's funeral. He consistently maintained contact with her before he fell sick and later passed away.

[Gimba Kakanda @gimbakakanda]

On Sudan, and why (Northern) Nigerians study there—a response to some of the condescending, sensationalising and unmistakably prejudiced hot takes trending:

1. Sudan isn’t the collapsible banana republic you assumed it is. It’s not just what you see on CNN. It’s had over a century of health professions education, long before Nigeria had its first medical school, and they have an evolved medical education system that attracts undergraduate and postgraduate medical students from across the world. They had had a university for more than half a century before Nigeria had one.

2. Northern Nigeria and Sudan haven’t only had historical interactions and cultural similarities, but Sudanese tertiary institutions also offer superior specialised training in various fields of Islamic studies. For instance, Nigeria’s former CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, obtained a master’s degree in Islamic Jurisprudence at a Sudanese university in the 90s—and he’s one of the smartest public servants Nigeria has ever had. This Sudanese education you’ve portrayed with contempt guided him in reforming Islamic banking in Nigeria during his stewardship at the apex bank.

3. If your aim was to treat Sudan as a hub of substandard education in a country that rushes to French-speaking Cotonou for months-long bachelor’s degrees, that argument won’t hold water. Your stereotypical point about Sudan being a breeding ground of religious extremism is also your consumption of the wrong news channels. The last time I checked, some of the most notorious international terrorists we’ve seen were radicalised in the West, including Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who’s studying at UCL when he fell apart.

4. A few months ago, Nigerian students were rescued from Ukraine, a European country, and we didn’t see these epistles about the whys of their choices of unstable and war-prone countries to study. FYI, Ukraine is a third-world country of blue-eyed, blonde-haired people. Or is your outrage because Sudan is an African or Muslim country?

5. Even as I wrote this, there were still Nigerians from all parts of the country studying in the war-torn Ukraine and Russia, two countries locked in the deadliest war in the world right now. Why aren’t you alarmed by the presence of Nigerians in Ukraine, a country that has been at war for decades? I know this because I have friends still studying there. So, let me ask you exactly what you asked northerners: “What kind of people are these people?”

6. You know quite well the reason Nigerians rush to study abroad—this fear of studying a 5-year programme for about a decade. Ironically, Sudan, for the Nigerians there, isn’t just for the affordability of the schools—a lot of our students in Sudan are from comfortable middle-class families that pay huge sums in tuition and other fees to give their children decent education at private institutions in a culturally familiar foreign country close to their home.

7. And, yes, this environment matters to some. The alienation of adapting to a new environment isn’t an easy cultural dislocation for some, and Sudan offers these northern Muslim students that avenue to study without the culture shocks or civilisational crisis, which even cosmopolitan black students experience in the West.

8. I think some of you should take your time and read up on Sudan. If you can’t write Ukraine off as just a place of war, that ancient African country too deserves the benefit of the doubt. It’s more than its war. There are people elsewhere who also wonder why there are still people in Nigeria, believing the entire country is at war. This isn’t even the time to point fingers.

[Isaiah Abimaje @isaiahabimaje]

Here's a video I did for @fidelitybankplc from a whatsapp status I saw in my feed this morning... Let stay safe people!

[Sats @badsats]

"You can’t force innovation in an organization whose culture doesn’t really value it." - @gothamCulture https://t.co/m7n4cR2gjF

[Co-creation HUB (CcHUB) Limited @Cc_HUB]

.@UNIONBANK_NG At the #Osogbo Idea sprint workshop, teams are being guided to create winning ideas that can solve social problems. #UBNCentenaryChallenge

[Ewgi @Ssaasquatch]

Presently #IStandWithNigeria

I love this guy TBH

[Sats @badsats]

Negotiating. Negotiating Skills The One Minute Negotiator & Getting to Yes. - ppt download https://t.co/rpINl2WlN2

[Osaretin Victor Asemota @asemota]

I am still trying to understand if Nigeria is a capitalist or communist country. Why should regulators actively prevent free market forces?

[Osaretin Victor Asemota @asemota]

It is people like @EmekaOkoye shouting "Data is the new oil" that caused this! The government thought they meant "Data Plans". Ear infection

[Tony O. Elumelu, CFR @TonyOElumelu]

I believe in African youth & their ability to collectively transform Africa into a strong regional economic player in just one generation

[Amara Nwankpa @Nwankpa_A]

CBN: Tax phone calls
NCC: Increase price of data
FRSC: Raise cost of licence
NERC: Raise electricity tariffs
Nigerians: Kuku kill us!

[Sats @badsats]

@jekwuozoemene threin lies the reason why people are ready to kill to be in power They get an income line that is not taxed or accounted for

[Report Fraud @reportfrauduk]

Don’t get tricked into calling back premium rate numbers from fraudsters who will deliberately drop call you

[Sats @badsats]

@The30DayWC #30DayWaterChallenge
Day 8. still going strong

[Sats @badsats]

Starting today, I Osato hereby pledge to stay committed to the #30DayWaterChallenge through the month of July 2016.

[Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton]

Delete your account. https://t.co/Oa92sncRQY

[Sats @badsats]

RIP Prince https://t.co/y4v5JLNkjJ

[Sats @badsats]

I completed my goal of 10,000 steps in the Goal Day challenge! #Fitbit

[bunmiamosu @olubunmiamosu]

@ClassicFM973 Healthy to loot but sickly to be tried. I wish them all soonest recovery oooooo. Only in Naija #NRA