HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND MAKE MONEY IN REAL ESTATE.

 

 

 

 

Social Marketing refers to the process of gaining Traffic or Attention through Social Media, will show you the secret and learning process in this article.

 

Buying a home is arguably one of the most important purchases in a person’s life. Most people don’t just buy a home on a whim. It is a long and arduous sales process.            
Social media has been identified and is trending as an advertizing platform,as huge number of people estimated to be currently over 3.2 billion are present on social media on daily basics and Nigerians are one of the highest social media users in the world.
In real Estate Marketing ,social media has served as a huge platform for real estate marketing and It's a great platform to reach out and market properties . It is arguably one of the easiest ways for any brand or company to reach out to its target audience, it reaches out fast to the general public unlike the older system of real estate marketing,which has to do with placement of board or banner and sending brief to potential clients through email or text messages. Social media has been seen as a word of mouth digitalized.

I will list several social media platforms and teach you how you can take advantage of this platforms for your real estate marketing here in Nigeria
Social Platforms
Facebook
WhatsApp
Google Plus
Google Blogs
Instagram
You Tube
Twitter
Linkedln
e.t.c

 

Facebook for Real Estate Marketing

Since Facebook is the world’s largest social network with over 3million users daily, it’s a safe bet that you’re going to be able to find some prospective home buyers on the platform.
Taking advantage of Facebook to sell or lease your property is very simple and easy and there are several ways you can do that.
Creating a business group on facebook
First, you can either create a group or join one, just log into your facebook page and click on create group, when you create this group,the next step is to add people,colleagues,fellow realtors  and friends that you know will be interested in joining this group and after that you can then advertise and share the properties you are selling on this group,optional instead of going through the stress of creating a new group,u can join several real estate groups on facebook,advertise there, share properties and have conversation.
Some Real Estate groups on facebook you can join here in Nigeria are.
PROPERTY EXCHANGE NIGERIA
LAGOS PROPERTY  e.t.c

creating a fan page on facebook

Using Facebook to Engage

Buying a home is arguably one of the most important purchases in a person’s life. Most people don’t just buy a home on a whim. It is a long and arduous sales process, so your prospects need to be nurtured over an extended time frame. Using Facebook is one of the easiest ways to do this. One great strategy is to create a facebook page and get people to Like your Page and then use tools like Sprout Social to schedule and publish content valuable to your follower base and keep sharing all your published to other area on facebook including on your timeline so all your friends can see

Using Facebook Ads to Boost Your Fan Base

We’ve established that it’s important to build a client base and to engage with them throughout their sales cycle, but the next question is: how do you build your client base in the first place? There are a few great ways to do that using Facebook Ads. If you’re new to advertising on Facebook, this my article is probably the best place to start. To sum up the process:

1. Login to the Facebook Ads creator and create an ad targeting Page Likes.
2. Create an ad for either the News Feed or sidebar and choose an image.
3. Target people who are based on the zip code or city that you sell in.
4. Use other targeting options that describe your ideal clients, such as “time to own your own home.”

As an example, I created an audience segment with the following parameters:

• Are you not tired of paying rent
• Buy a plot of land at a cheap rate
• Hurry now while its still available
• As cheap as N600,000 per plot

And just like that, we now have a target audience of 5,000 qualified people who would be ideal to Like your Facebook Page.
and also this Ad can be marketed by facebook as low as 5dollars and your return will be guaranteed
How Ads are being Marketed on Facebook
Have you noticed that sometime when you log into your facebook page,most times you will see Adverts just on your page with a picture e,g JIJI 2 BEDROOM AT IKORODU LAGOS or PROPERTYEXCHANGE.COM,NG. 4BEDROOM DUPLEX FOR SALE MAITAMA ABUJA..that advert will show on the page of millions of facebook users in the target areas you choose

Tips: It pays to use your personally facebook page to advertise your properties as an agent rather that sharing unproductive post or news.

Real Estate Marketing Ideas for Twitter

Twitter is a great platform to use in conjunction with Facebook for driving awareness and boosting engagement with potential home buyers.

Using Twitter to Engage Your Followers

On Facebook, you may only want to post one or two status a day promoting an open house or sending out valuable content. With Twitter, though, it is much more common to send out multiple posts a day. Here are a few great ways to take advantage of this standard:

1. Schedule tweets for each individual open house or showing ahead of time so you can focus on getting the place in great shape.
2. Use tools to queue tweets with great content to go out automatically while you’re working on other things.

Here’s a fantastic example of Twitter marketing from KENHOOD HOMES & PROPERTY

Office SpacesVictoria Island Lagos #khpconsult Check it out! http://t.co/khpconsult 3bed, 2.5bath condo with a great view! #realestate pic.twitter.com/khpconsult
— Nwaelugo Kennedy (@kenhoodproperties) May 3, 2017

Using Twitter Ads to Boost Your Fan Base

If you want people to see all of your Tweets about open houses and quality content, you’re going to need to develop a sizable follower base. Similar to building up a large audience on Facebook, the Twitter advertising platform may be the biggest win for quickly establishing a relevant following. The best Twitter advertising opportunity for realtors is to run ads based on keywords.
Here’s an example of an ad you’d see if you looked up “real estate” in the Twitter search bar.

Referrals rock. Read 5 Tips to Close Referrals and Grow Your Business! https://t.co/xyc558ebiM

If you’re new to advertising on Twitter you can start here. If not, you can follow these instructions to set up a campaign,its simple.

1. Login to your Twitter ads account.
2. Click the Create New Campaign button in the top right-hand corner and choose Custom campaign from the drop-down.
3. Choose to run Keyword targeting on this campaign.
4. Enter phrases that a good lead would be looking up, such as “real estate.”
5. Choose the place where you want your viewers to be located.

Now whenever someone looks up “real estate” on Twitter in the area you choose, they’ll land on a page prompting them to follow you.
Hope this help.

Real Estate Marketing Ideas for LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s professional members make it a great place for realtor/real estate marketers to network and find new connections while also building brand equity. If you haven’t started on LinkedIn yet, now could be the time. You can sign up for a personal LinkedIn page here.

Making Yourself Look Good

Since a home is one of the biggest purchases a person will make in their lifetime, you need to establish trust with your prospective buyer. People want to make sure that you know what you’re talking about and can close this important deal successfully. Build up your LinkedIn profile with the details about your experience and with recommendations from happy buyers. Endorsements sections, like the one below, show that you are knowledgeable about aspects of your field:

Make sure to fill out any relevant and truthful information about yourself. It’s an incredibly long sales cycle; if you put anything false, it may come out later and ruin current and future relationships.

Connecting With Other Industry Leaders

LinkedIn is mostly about finding relationships within your industry and leveraging those relationships for the benefit of both parties. In order to do this, you’ll need to find other influential people in the real estate industry.
You can use LinkedIn’s search filters:

1. From the home page, click the button that reads Advanced next to the search bar.
2. Search relevant titles, such as “realtor” or “real estate agent.”
3. Search for people at a specific company if you think that they hire the top talent
4. Set a location. It may be important for you to find realtors who list in your area.
5. Click Search and start finding people who look like good business contacts.

Or you can turn to LinkedIn Groups:

1. From the home page, click the button to the left of the search bar and choose Groups.
2. Type in any relevant keywords or phrases to find groups in the industry.
3. Just typing in “real estate” brought me back 22,287 groups I could join in Nigeria!
4. Look around for active and interesting groups to join, and join them.
5. Now you can start discussions, engage with users, and eventually connect with them

 MARKETING YOUR PROPERTIES THROUGH SOCIAL VIDEO AND YOU TUBE

HD Streaming Video Platform

Although floor plans and pictures of homes are essential for showing off a location, incorporating a live-stream video is a unique way to present a unit. With USTREAM you can offer virtual open houses for people who may not have time to visit the location in person.

 How to market with you tube.

After Taken a well edited video of your property.YouTubers" and put your property advert, in front of millions of potential viewers. In this article, I will explains how paid advertising can help get your videos seen.
If you have the budget, you should seriously consider using paid search advertising (also referred to as keyword advertising) to promote your YouTube property videos.
For example, when you use Google AdWords, Google AdWords for Video or similar services offered by Yahoo!, Bing and Facebook, you can create short ads that include a direct link to one of your videos or your YouTube channel page. These paid advertising opportunities are inexpensive and highly targeted, ensuring that your ad(s) will be seen at the exact moment someone is searching for content based on a keyword or search phrase that matches specific keywords associated with your video content.
Also in Marketing with you tube,


Also when you connect your you tube to google is also another source of income for you,doing that you have to subscribe to google and google will pay you on any view on your video on you tube
this is how it is done.
These services work on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, which means you only pay when someone actually clicks on the link featured within your ad. While thousands of people may see the ad, if only 100 of those people actually click on the link, you only pay for those 100 clicks, not the thousands of views.
How much you wind up paying per click--or your cost per click--will vary greatly, based on the popularity of the keywords you select to associate with your ad, along with a handful of other factors. Another benefit to this type of advertising is that you can set your budget in advance.
For example, if you know the cost per click is 50 Naira and you have a $10,000 per week budget, (note the payment is in Dollars) you know that in your best-case scenario, your ad can generate 200 new views. You also know the people watching your videos are well-qualified and part of your target demographic. This method works best when your cost per click is low, but the click-through rate (the number of people who click on the link in your ad vs. the number of people who see the ad) is very high.
What’s not seen by the people viewing your ad, but that you as the advertiser need to create, is a list of highly specific keywords or tags related to whatever it is you’re promoting. It’s these keywords (along with the content within your ad), plus a few other factors, that will determine who sees your ad, where it’s seen and how often it’s seen. The keywords you select are as important as the content of the ad itself.
Every character, word and line within a Google AdWords ad, for example, should have a purpose and impact, plus convey a message. The ad’s goal is to attract attention and get someone to click on the link in order to immediately access your video, YouTube channel page or your website that has your YouTube video embedded in it.
All the major search engines offer keyword advertising opportunities, as does Facebook. To learn more about these opportunities, visit:

• Google AdWords
• Yahoo! Search Advertising
• Bing Ads
• Facebook Ads

All have a very low startup cost but offer the ability to ensure that your ads are seen exclusively by your target demographic within the time frame you select. One of the great things about using these advertising services is that you have the opportunity to target your ad’s viewers. Plus, you can create, launch and see the results from your ads within hours of launching a new campaign. It’s also possible to easily run and track multiple campaigns simultaneously that utilize a different ad message or a different assortment of keywords.
Because Google AdWords is so closely related to YouTube, this is probably the best service to begin advertising with. However, you may want to run ad campaigns using two or more of these services simultaneously in order to reach web surfers when and where they’re actually looking for your product or service.
On the YouTube service itself, one fee-based method for promoting your videos is the AdWords for Video program. Like Google AdWords, AdWords for Video allows you to promote your YouTube videos in a way that’s highly targeted, yet it’s offered on a pay-per-click basis. One difference between AdWords and AdWords for Video is that the latter includes a thumbnail video image within the ad.
Keyword advertising can help you quickly build an audience for your videos, because you can create and launch an ad campaign within an hour or two and immediately track its results in real time. Based on your budget, consider running multiple ad campaigns, with different wording or keywords associated with each, simultaneously on a single service or across several services in order to more efficiently build an audience for your videos.

WhatsApp For Real Estate Marketing

Most people enjoy the pleasure of whatsapp for chatting with friends and family, sharing pictures and so on, But i wish to tell you that there are more to whatsapp and this social platform  can be used for business including real estate marketing, whatsapp can be used as a business intereactive forum, where realtors can share the properties they are selling or letting and connect easy with other realtors.
Personally i created a whasapp real estate group called PROPERTY EXCHANGE NG. and this group has 260 paticipant and it serves as a platform where this realtors share and advertise properties,interact and help each other solve problems.
Just Imaging as a realtor a client approached you, to request for a Duplex and at that moment you dont have that in your portfolio,so instead of running around or making long calls in search of other realtors who might have the DUPLEX, U can easily place it on the forum and with second your request will be met,atleast 2 realtors out of the 260 realtos will have what you need and you can conclude the deal as soon as possible ans share commission.
PROPERTY EXCHANGE IS WHATSAPP GROUP ON WHATSAPP, YOU CAN CALL ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO JOIN.

HOPE THIS ARTICLE HELPS
FOR QUESTIONS ,GUIDELINES OR TRAINING INCLUDING SEMINARS OR LECTURES.
07039428289    09039611542
khpconsultant@gmail.com
khpgroups2017@gmail.com
Thank you.

MY PROFILE

NWAELUGO DOZIE KENNEDY (RSV) IS A Bsc Holder in ESTATE MANAGEMENT, a professional real estate marketer, Real Estate Blogger  and the C.E.O of KENHOOD HOMES & PROPERTY and PROPERTY EXCHANGE NIGERIA ( propertyexchange.com.ng) A soon to be launched real estate Multiple listing, Advertizing and Marketing Platform, he is also a Career/ Motivational Speaker/ A theatre Actor and an MC..he has a passion for real estate and he is driving by Hardwork and desire to Make a Difference.
this article is one of the other that he has written and we hope it to show the important of Social Media in real Esate Marketing  help and improve the way Realtors do business.

STUPIDITY IS WHEN YOU HAVE A LANDCRUISER AND LANDROVER AND YOU STILL HAVE A LANDLORD

WHY YOU SHOULD OWN LANDED PROPERTY

DESCRIPTION : SAND FILLED LAND.

LOCATION :ABUJA QUARTERS,IBEJU LEKKI.

PRICE: N700,000.

DESCRIPTION: 5 BEDRROM DUPLEX

LOCATION : LAGOON ESTATE OGUDU

PRICE: 65MILLION

DESCRIPTION: SHOP WITH TOILET FACILITY

LOCATION: OGUDU OJOTA ROAD

PRICE : 3 MILLION NET

DESCRIPTION: TO LET7 BEDROOM DUPLEX WITH

2 BEDROOM BOYS SQUARTERS

LOCATION: OGUDU GRA

PRICE; 2.5MILLION

ON REAL ESTATE MATTERS..ASK ME

PROPERTY/REAL ESTATE CONSULTANCY: IT'S WISE TO RENT A HOUSE DURING RAINY SEASON IN L...

PROPERTY/REAL ESTATE CONSULTANCY: IT'S WISE TO RENT A HOUSE DURING RAINY SEASON IN L...: Renting a house during rainy season has been seen as the right and best period to rent houses in Lagos State and some States in Nigeria. Lag...

IT'S WISE TO RENT A HOUSE DURING RAINY SEASON IN LAGOS

Renting a house during rainy season has been seen as the right and best period to rent houses in Lagos State and some States in Nigeria. Lagos is practically under water many areas have been left flooded due to ceaseless rainfall Some low lying area of the city are prone to flood, poor environmental practices such as dumping of waste in drainage often lead to flooding, also lots of buildings in Lagos state are not properly built and the basement of the building is too low that the building are inherently prone to flooding. They are, by definition, the lowest level of a building, typically built partly or entirely below ground basement level., hereby water end up penetrating into this buildings. Also so many building in Lagos state are built in water log area, close to canal( unapproved buildings ) and we have lots of shanty, this  houses pose to be ideal or lovely during the dry season and when renting the property,the agent or landlord will brainwash you that it is lovely and good to rent the particular property  and after making all payment eventually it starts raining the whole street and area becomes flooded that one has to flee from his home for days until the flood goes off, Even to the extend that the flood gets into the apartment and end up damaging properties and  documents.

                       ALAPERE LAGOS


Lagos is practically under water Many areas have been left flooded due to ceaseless rainfall Some low lying area of the city are prone to flood Poor environmental practices such as dumping of waste in drainage often lead to flooding and this has causes havoc and even lost of life, in Lagos state some tout even make money by transporting people from one location to another by carrying them on the back in this floud areas and they pay for this service.
In the last few days, Lagosians have been experiencing intense rainfall and most part of the areas listed has been flood. People have been driven out of their homes because of rising water level which makes their homes become inhabitable.  The areas are:
1, Alapere , Aboru in Ipaja,
2. Surulere,
3. Bariga,
4. Anifowoshe, Ikeja
5. Ijesha
6. Meiran,
7. Ajasa Command Road in Agbado-Okeodo,
8. Alagbole, Isheri in Berger area,
9. Part of Agege,
10. Ojodu,
11. Okun-Ajah, Lekki Peninsular
12, Ogba,
13. Oshodi,
14. Iyana-Ipaja
15. Owode,
16. Badiya,
17. Aboru,
18. Iwaya,
19. Arowojobe in Maryland,
20. Ajegunle,
21. Ajegunle,
22. Owode-Onirin
23. Kuramo Beach
24. Oke Afa, Ejigbo and Bucknor area in Ejigbo,
25. Maza Maza,
26. Ijegun Isheri,
27. Agbado,
28. Akute
29. Ikoyi,
30. Victoria Island, particularly Ahmadu Bello Way.
Lagos state government has warned that those living in the areas below should consider relocating to avoid flood problem, the dedicated telephone number is: 08099183777 for Lagosians to notify the state government whenever they notice flood related issues in their streets, neighbourhood and highways

                                

With the state of Lagos State and the endless rain this past few days, there is need as they say in pidgin English.Shine Your Eyes or ask questions properly before renting or buying a house in Lagos State.

THE NEED TO CREATE THE OFFICE OF VALUER GENERAL IN LAGOS STATE.

A BILL FOR A LAW TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF THE VALUER-GENERAL IN LAGOS STATE FOR THE EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF VALUATION OF PUBLIC ASSETS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES CONNECTED THERETO
1. (1) There is hereby established the Office of Valuer-General Lagos State (hereinafter referred to as “the Valuer-General Office”) which shall be responsible for the preparation of valuation of all public Assets in the state.
(2) For the purpose of this bill the Valuer-General shall have zonal offices in Local Government areas in the state.
(3) The valuation offices in each local government area in the state shall be the only body empowered to carry out assessment of public Assets subject to the approval of the Valuer-General.
(4) The Valuer-General Office shall consist of the Valuer-General and such number of other staff as may be required to assist the Valuer-General in the execution of his duties under this Bill.
(5) The members of staff of the Valuer-General Office shall be members of the state public service who shall be professional Estate Surveyors and Valuers and other supporting staff.
2.(1) The Governor shall appoint the Valuer-General who shall be a member of The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and also registered by the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), with at least 12years post registration experience.
(2) The Valuer -General shall be appointed from within the civil service or externally after due process.
(3) The Valuer -General shall be both the Professional and administrative head of the Office.
(4) The Valuer-General appointed under this Bill shall be responsible to the Governor of the state.
3. The Valuer-General shall be responsible but not limited to the following ;
(1) Shall maintain Asset Register of all Government Assets in the State.
(2) Shall supply valuation information on yields on Real Estate Investment, Land Values, Rental values, Property ratios, Investment Analysis and other relevant data to the State Government and the Public.
(3) Shall Advise Government on International Financial Reporting Standards with relationship to physical Assets.
(4)(i) Shall implement the intent and expectation of sections 29(4b), 29(4c) of the Land Use Act 1978 as the “appropriate officer”.
(ii) Shall act as an adviser on value to satisfy the provision of section 33(2) of the Land Use Act 1978
(iii) Shall advise Government on compensation issues as provided by section 29(1) and 29(2) of the Land Use Act 1978.
(iv)Shall advise Government on compensation matters under the appropriate provisions of the Minerals Act or the Minerals Oils Act or any legislation replacing the same.
(5) The identification, survey and assessment of public Assets in the state for the compilation of the Assets register mentioned in subsection (1) of this section.
(6) Nomination or appointment of professional advisers for valuation of all public Assets in the State.
(7) Valuation of all property based taxes for purpose of revenue generation.
(8) Valuation of Government assets including infrastructure, facilities, furniture and fittings, landed properties and other tangible/ intangible assets in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
(9) Pre-investment appraisal of government projects, public private partnership projects, project monitoring and evaluation etc.
(10) Valuation for arbitration, mediation and reconciliation.
(11) Assessing the compensation payable upon acquisition of land by the Government.
(12) Assessment of appropriate rates for Stamp Duty.
(13) Determining the values of properties rented, purchased, sold or leased by or to Government.
(14) Other functions that may be assigned from time to time.
4. (1) The Valuer-General shall appoint consultant Estate Surveyor and Valuers for the purpose of this Bill.
(2) The consultant so appointed under subsection (1) of this Section shall be subject to and under the supervision of the Valuer General or his designated officer.
5. An Estate Surveyor and Valuer shall be:
(1) Responsible for the valuation of any Asset that may be assigned to him/her.
(2) Required to give all such information orally or in writing as may affect the assessment of such Asset.
(3) Required to enter into any Assets on any at any reasonable time to take such measurements and other particulars of the Asset as he may deem necessary for the purpose of his/her engagement.
(4) Required to ensure that valuation carried out for all purposes are in conformity with the applicable standards as set by NIESV, ESVARBON, IVSC, IPMS, IPSAS, FRCN and any other standards applicable for the assignment.
6. For the purposes of this bill, all Assets in the state shall be valued based on the purpose for which the valuation is required.
7. In assessing relevant Assets, Estate Surveyors and Valuers, shall determine the appropriate value of such in accordance with a purpose for which the valuation is required using acceptable valuation methods.

with all this I see a need to create the office of a Valuer General not just in Lagos State ,but all36 states.
BY:

ESV Offiong Samuel Ukpong  FNIVS

Chairman NIESV Lagos Branch.

WHATS THE BIG DEAL :SAVE RENT AND INVEST IT IN OWNING YOUR OWN HOME.

Food, Clothing and Shelter form the BASIC NEEDS of man, and it is in the above order that these needs are usually met. In developed societies it isn't much of a problem (though it doesn't mean there aren't armies of homeless on the streets), but for the employed it is easier to afford accommodation, even pursuing the process of owning homes via various mortgage schemes than it is for the person with similar characteristics (even level of income) to pursue same in Nigeria.

It is also interesting to note that while in the west owning, even inheriting a home or property is a liability, in Africa and in Nigeria particularly, it is an asset, and that is why when Africans read books like Robert Kiyosaki's "RICH DAD, POOR DAD" we should know when to draw the line especially when it comes to what is applicable locally in contrast to what works in regions from where people in the west have experience of and from which they write. It is the lack of circumspection amongst Africa's elite, especially those who determine the policy direction of state that is responsible for the poor economic state of most countries in Africa, as they usually promote economic policies baked in the hallways of buildings housing International Finance Corporations, IFCs without any input from locales (in Africa) which the policies require for its survival, apart from the fact that the hypothetical conditions on which many of these policies are founded and formulated are alien to the practical conditions on ground in many African countries like Nigeria.

So, the need to own one's home in Nigeria, besides having to pay a large portion of one's income as rent especially in cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, cannot be overemphasized. Even when one can afford the exorbitantly prized homes in the centre of town or close to the sea, or with some nice view, with some semblance of government presence in terms of social amenities, the accommodation thus procured barely meets the standards one would expect of an ideal home. Many of the newly built houses do not reach the requisite heights as you will find with older houses (built with the occupant in mind, rather than with the lean pocket of or the profits to be made by the owner/developer in the shortest possible time), as if they were built by Lilliputians or Hobbits, even Dwarfs (no pun intended). Some privately owned estates that sell houses that meet the standards often stay around to provide utilities that government isn't ready to provide especially on virgin lands in the fast urbanizing parts of the outskirts of town, holding the occupants of such homes to ransom in the way that the cost of utility is on the expensive side most times, though most times the wealthy homeowners usually won't mind paying because of the constancy for instance of water and electricity (a feat that remains an impossibility with the public utility companies in the areas of town where they are found) as well as central sewage management and disposal, with clauses such as a prohibition of use of electrical gadgets with heating elements. In fact, in some of the estates that I know in Lagos, home owners aren't even allowed to iron their clothes or use electric stoves, using uninterrupted supply of electricity from the utility companies within the estate, which they pay an arm and a leg for, leaving such homeowners in a quandary, the sort that immediately cuts the freedom they initially thought they enjoyed by buying their own homes to size.

Governments' (at Federal and State levels) involvement in bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria (especially targeting civil servants and employees in the formal private sector) so far has amounted to nothing more than a joke, with several mortgage schemes in recent times come to nought, after billions of Naira (Nigeria's currency) may have been deducted at source from workers' salary, which after a few years with just a few eventual beneficiaries is engulfed in controversies and scrapped with affected individuals sometimes repaid their contributions fully or partially and at other times not repaid a dime, leading to the high level of apathy on the part of workers to enlist in subsequent attempt by government to initiate and follow-through with housing schemes.

When governments like that of Lagos appears to have gotten it right through PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP, PPP collaborations to produce mass-housing units where members of the tax-paying public can by lottery own apartments of their own and pay off the mortgage on them over time, the schemes have turned out not to be favourable to the pockets of the majority of workers, as the premiums paid especially to the mortgage banks (on the private end of the PPP) are such that one has to be complicit in corruption in the office, one way or another, or married couples must be working at very well paying jobs or have business that "churn out cash on the daily" to be able to make the monthly or annual deposits they need to make to offset their mortgages, which isn't lessened by the fact that it runs into years, even decades to pay off because of the high interest rates, which at the end of the day sums up to more than twice the original amount of the cost of the apartment. Even at that the experience in Lagos is such that because the state government is partly involved, when there is a change in government progress may be hampered especially if the new wants to review the dealings of the old, thereby jeopardizing the plans of prospective homeowners (whose contributions are tied down) which may be distorted if the government, as is presently the case in Lagos, decides to put on hold further developments until the whole process is reviewed. If one decides to go it alone by approaching mortgage banks for loans to build or outrightly buy a house, with interest currently standing between 20% and 25% with the private mortgage establishments, it will seem in the long run "penny wise and pound foolish", except one has a phoney source of income to pay the outrageous sums monthly or annually over a period of a decade or more. Though interests are far lower with federal mortgage establishments, the corruption in the system as well as likelihood of policy reversals and summersaults especially when a new government takes over power (as Nigeria is currently experiencing at the federal level) makes such less expensive ventures very risky.

Nigeria is a mono-product economy, regardless of what you have heard, especially from government officials. She relies heavily on crude oil exports to fund her existence, nay her fragile unity . The most economically viable of her states is Lagos, the economic and commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. Lagos has no oil (well, presently) as the states in the Niger Delta region (suffering the effects of years of oil exploration activities) but makes much more than any other state in Nigeria. Lagos' "oil" is its LAND, and because it is small in size with what is arguably the most densely populated (many believe that despite Kano- with a larger landmass- allocated the highest number in the last census, it isn't as populated as Lagos) of all the states in Nigeria, acquiring property (as with procuring accommodation that matches ones' taste with ones' pocket, for rent) is herculean, and when it comes to choice of location, may not even be a function of money, as many times than none government patronage as well as political connections with the right people in government is required to facilitate such.
This scenario has over the years birthed the increasing number and influence of LAND SPECULATORS (and "grabbers" under the guise of being "indigenous" owners of land (aka OMO ONÍLÈ) in Lagos, making people who can't afford the exorbitant cost of owning homes in the city centre with social amenities to head to the outskirts where land is cheaper, though not without the presence of these speculators who can make the process of owning land difficult, as in the very unfortunate of cases ones may pay for the same land several times, as different "factions" of the families could lay claim on the land, and extort from the new owner, who may lose the land if s/he doesn't begin development while "settling" the different factions, at the end of the day making the one pay twice or thrice (or more) the amount advertised for the supposedly "cheap" land.

Now, that is beside the constant harassment of builders at the site, and payments made to head of the "Ruling House" at every milestone reached in the building project afterwards. Completing the structure is no guarantee that all is well, sometimes even with the necessary approval granted from the state's ministry of land and housing, including possession of the Certificate of Occupancy, C-of-O (especially when the house is located in a remote area with very few other landlords braving the odds to build theirs as well), as government may "wake up" one day to decide to develop the area, and woe betides one if it comes to be that the house is sitting on a path earmarked as a road or any other amenity that the government had planned to site (as many of the lands that are on sale in the outskirts of major cities/states bear no markings or BEACONS that suggest or give one an insight into future government plans for the area (a reason why you can see a house with its backyard to the road), according to a MASTER PLAN that only a very few people, even in the "ministry" are privy to. Interestingly, the same people that may inform one of this development may yet tell one that there can be a way around it, making the unsuspecting homeowner a conduit for their enrichment periodically, till government eventually demolishes (with or without compensation) the house built from the one's sweat, with nothing but excuses or outright denial of ever collecting anything from the unfortunate and heartbroken homeowner by the unscrupulous elements that litter the corridors of housing ministries especially in states like Lagos.

Many homeowners manage to surmount these problems and eventually begin to build their houses in the outskirts of states like Lagos, or even the adjoining state like Ogun in this case. Or in Keffi or Mararaba, outside of Nigeria's administrative capital Abuja where they work. Some opted for this route especially when they can easily access federal roads to state roads into the major cities where they work from the outskirts of town where their house is, transiting from their homes to work daily especially when they are mobile doing on the average two hours to and two hours from their offices, when there's light traffic, especially very early in the mornings and very late at night. Some elect to still rent a small one-room apartment (convenient for males usually, the bad side of which is that the man may then go on to have another family in town, away from the one at home in the outskirts of the city or in another state where he has set up an abode) in the city and spend week days there, before commuting to the outskirts to be with their families during the weekend, especially if the spouse has business nearer home. Another interesting thing to note or consider is that it is difficult to get a plot of land in Lagos and "major" towns in most states in Nigeria that will measure approximately 120ft by 120ft or even 100ft by 100ft, just variants of something less in length and breadth as definition for a plot, sometimes even in the remote places in the outskirts of the state. It is possible however to get the semblance to an ideal plot elsewhere in Nigeria, with the added advantage of absence of "Land Speculators", especially in states where the Real Estate potentials remain largely untapped or in the budding stage.

Because of the remote nature of the places outside of town, it is not enough to dig trenches to demarcate ones' piece of land. Some elect to make a fence using cheap aluminium roofing sheets, not only to ensure that the land isn't encroached upon, but to discourage intruders from stealing materials used in building especially at night. Others simply go ahead and make the perimeter fencing with blocks since they will have to do so eventually (as is norm with homes and houses in Nigeria), simultaneously with the building of the foundation, though the fence may not be built to what should be its eventual height.

The cost of setting up a structure, after one has finally secured one's land (with or without hassles, depending on the place in the outskirt of a major town or even within town), that will cater for the foundation for a three bedroom bungalow and include a partly constructed perimeter fencing on a 100ft by 100ft piece of land by todays' estimation varies from place to place, but usually differ only slightly at construction sites Nigeria-wide. Now, because most of the lands in the outskirts are located inside bushes, sometimes forests, one may need to clear the land of shrubs, weed and trees before any work starts there.

- CLEARING of the land shouldn't cost more than =N=12,000 including the felling of TREES, of which the wood can be sold for some cash.

- DIGGING or making a TRENCH for the fence and foundation should cost about =N=45,000 in labour costs.

- As for the CONSUMABLES, the costs are as follows:
*SAND - 2 tipper loads/trips..............=N= 90,000
*STONES - 2 tipper loads/trips........=N=120,000
*BLOCKS : Usually, the foundation is made using 9-inch blocks while the first two layers for the fence is done using 9-inch blocks and 6-inch blocks for subsequent layers. To achieve a foundation for a three bedroom bungalow and a fence of about 3 or 4 feet off the ground over a 100ft by 100ft of a plot of land, you may have need of about 1800 blocks @ 140 each 0r 160 depend on the area...... =N=252,000
*CEMENT - 40bags @ N2,300 each..... =N=92,000
*WATER: Usually in places in the outskirts, where there's no means of public water supply, and no natural supply as well besides the rain, one may have to buy water from vendors via water tankers or ask help of neighbours who may have dug boreholes (or one may decide to embark on digging one, to aid water supply for the construction as well as for household use after completion of the building). However, there is need to have a tank to store the water so procured in a tank of which the bigger sizes go for about =N=45,000 for one. Other costs here depends on how the builder decides to source water therefore I will leave that blank.

- LABOUR costs for the FOUNDATION should hover around =N=40,000, while that for the perimeter FENCING should be about the same =N=55,000.
It is pertinent to note that payment for labour should be made per MILESTONE or till one runs out of building materials, and not PER DIEM or else the labourers will linger on the job for longer, costing one more in the long run.

To make the foundation and perimeter fence for a 3-Bedroom Bungalow on a 100ft by 100ft piece of land, one will need not less than =N=762,000 (very conservative estimate) besides other sundry expenses as may occasionally crop up.

When the building proper begins, one may want to make some business by the side, especially if one finds that there are other buildings being erected simultaneously. An aspect to exploit is transportation of materials, as one can procure a not-too-run-down pickup truck to haul building materials from source to the building site for about =N=600,000 and give it out at higher purchase for a period of about 70 weeks (or thereabouts), for between =N=1,200,000 or =N=1,500,000, for which the operator makes a weekly payment of between =N=18,000 and =N=20,000 (or more, depending on haggling and bargaining power). Another, involves the moulding of blocks especially with building projects that is more than a bungalow, and will take longer than a year to complete. The builder may then sell excess building blocks to neighbours far and near who are also engaged in one form of building or the other.

Many builders are exploring alternatives to the popular building materials and I would've loved to touch on that howbeit briefly but on a second thought it will have to be a topic for another day. For now, I will just like to end by saying that we should be encouraged to build, as just about anyone can do it. Once one has mustered the courage to start, the worst that can happen is a delay to completing it. CARPE DIEM!


N.B.- The official rate of the Naira to the Dollar as at the time of writing this is =N= - $1.is 412N

WAEC PERFORMANCES 2015. which state top the list.

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination has released its performance chart for May/June 2015 exams.

The Chart as obtained by PUNCH showed the list of all the states and their positions.

See details of chart below:

Abia - 1st

Anambra - 2nd

Edo - 3rd

Rivers - 4th

Imo - 5th

Lagos - 6th

Bayelsa - 7th

Delta - 8th

Enugu -9th

Ebonyi - 10th

Ekiti - 11th

Kaduna - 12th

Ondo - 13th

Abuja - 14th

Kogi - 15th

Benue - 16th

Akwa Ibom - 17th

Kwara - 18th

Ogun - 19th

Cross River - 20th

Taraba - 21st

Plateau - 22nd

Nassarawa -23rd

Kano - 24th

Borno - 25th

Oyo - 26th

Niger - 27th

Adamawa -28th

Osun -29th

Sokoto - 30th

Bauchi - 31st

Kebbi - 32nd

Katsina - 33rd)

Gombe - 34th

Jigawa - 35th

Zamfara - 36th

Yobe - LAST

NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA ATTACKS FALANI. CALLS HIM AN INTEGRATED CHALLENGED CHARLATAN

YOU ARE AN INTEGRATED CHALLENGED CHARLATAN

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy during the tenure of former President Godluck Jonathan, has taken a swipe at human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, calling him an integrity challenged chalartan.
Okonjo-Iweala was responding to the call for the arrest of the ex-minister by the International criminal Court (ICC) over the corruption that went on during the last administration.
Falana had in petition dated January 19, 2016 and sent to the Prosecutor at the ICC requested the court to “investigate allegation of crimes against humanity committed against the Nigerian people by some former and serving military officials as well as public officials and private persons who engaged in the criminal diversion of $8 billion earmarked to procure equipment for the armed forces to fight insurgency.”
He said: “The inquiry conducted by the Presidential Panel on arms procurement has established that the bulk of the sum of $2.1 billion and N643 billion ($4 billion) earmarked for the purchase of military hardware to fight terrorism was criminally diverted by the former government through the office of the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd). It has also been confirmed that the said Col. Dasuki colluded with some serving and retired military officers and civilians to divert the sum of $2 billion and N29 billion set aside for the procurement of fighter jets and other equipment for the Nigeria Air Force.
“As if that was not enough, the sum of $322 million and £5.5 million from the Abacha loot which was illegally transferred to Col. Dasuki by a former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for prosecuting the war on terror has also been criminally diverted. Part of the stolen fund was used to fund the campaign for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general elections”, Falana said.
“We therefore submit that this is sufficient to hold Col Dasuki and others that have been indicted in the arms theft scandal responsible for crimes against humanity perpetrated against Nigerians. The failure of a former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to prevent widespread and systematic corruption including the re-looting of the Abacha loot amounts to complicity under the Rome Statute, and therefore fits the legal requirements of a crime against humanity.”
But the former finance minister in a response Thursday by her media adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, said the call for her arrest “is a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan (ICC).”
She said “this misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about.”
The statement reads:

A RESPONSE TO FEMI FALANA, AN INTEGRITY-CHALLENGED CHARLATAN (ICC)
The malicious attempt by Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana to mix Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala up in issues that have nothing to do with her in his letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan (ICC).
This misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about.
He has resorted to this action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name – through his discredited NGO, SERAP and petitions to the EFCC – failed because they were lacking in credibility.
This latest effort to try to attach her name falsely confirms that Femi Falana is nothing but a tool of corrupt elements whose interests were hurt by the work Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did in fighting corruption while she was in office.
These elements have now made a habit of making false allegations against Dr Okonjo-Iweala whenever she receives any national or international recognition for her work. The pattern is clear and Nigerians should be alert to it. But Dr Okonjo-Iweala will not be intimidated from going on with her life and performing her duties. She will not give in to cowardly and unmanly bullying.
Falana’s latest attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely suggests that he is suffering from an ailment that may be described as Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA) because he simply has no grasp of the facts.
Here are the facts:

FACT NO 1: OKONJO-IWEALA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE $2.1 BILLION ARMS CONTROVERSY
Contrary to Falana’s lies, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has absolutely nothing to do with the alleged misuse of $2.1billion by the office of the former National Security Adviser. Falana and his sponsors are simply trying to invent a connection where there is none.

The January 20, 2015 memo in which Dr Okonjo-Iweala sought and received the approval of former President Jonathan for the release of part of the newly returned Abacha funds to the NSA for purchase of arms is totally separate from the $2.1 billion issue.
The memo which is now in the public domain speaks for itself. The release of the resources was in response to an approval by the former President following a meeting chaired by him after a committee had considered the request.
The memo clearly documented Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s insistence that the proper procedure be followed, subject to appropriation and according to financial regulations. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala went further to state that the former NSA should account for the funds to the former President since she is not a member of the Security Council. The attempt to link Okonjo-Iweala to the $2.1billion issue is therefore dead on arrival.

FACT NO 2: OKONJO-IWEALA WAS NOT IN GOVERNMENT WHEN MOST OF THE ABACHA FUNDS WERE RECOVERED
Falana and his sponsors have claimed that billions of dollars of Abacha funds were recovered and that Dr Okonjo-Iweala should account for the recovered funds.
The fact is that some of the funds recovery was done under the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo when Dr Okonjo-Iweala was not even in government.
During the time Dr Okonjo-Iweala was Finance Minister in the second Obasanjo administration, $500m was recovered. As documented by the Field Study conducted by the World Bank with the assistance of national and international NGOs, this amount was properly applied.
Falana’s insistence on the contrary shows how despicable he is and how he is ready to ignore facts and concoct a fiction in the service of his sponsors.

FACT 3: OKONJO-IWEALA LEFT STRONG LEGACIES AS A CHAMPION OF TRANSPARENCY AND THE FIGHT AGAINST
?CORRUPTION WHILE IN GOVERNMENT
It is on record that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala championed transparency and vigorously fought corruption during her two terms as Minister. Among other actions, starting from the second Obasanjo administration, she, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, published monthly revenue allocations to all tiers of government for Nigerians to see.
While serving in the Obasanjo administration, she requested the assistance of the World Bank and DFID, the UK’s development agency to build institutions and systems that could block leakages from the treasury. This work stalled after she left office in 2006. In August 2011 when she returned under the Jonathan government, with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance Team, she re-invigorated the establishment and use of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management Systems (IPPIS), the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA), all of which saved the country billions of naira by drastically reducing avenues for corruption in the public service. These facts are well documented in successive World Bank, DFID and IMF Article 4 Reports.
It is gratifying that the present government has adopted and is further building on these systems for the benefit of the country.

FACT NO 4: DR. OKONJO-IWEALA’S MOTHER WAS KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST KILLED BECAUSE OF THE FORMER MINISTER’S STANCE AGAINST CORRUPTION
Falana is callous beyond belief for ignoring a fact of recent Nigerian history: the kidnap of Professor Kamene Okonjo, the then 83 year old mother of Dr Okonjo-Iweala by agents of fuel subsidy fraudsters who were angry that the former Minister had blocked them from defrauding the country further.
The kidnappers had told the traumatised old woman that they were sent to punish Okonjo-Iweala for refusing to pay some oil marketers. It is on record with the State Security Services that the kidnappers initially demanded the resignation of Dr Okonjo-Iweala in return for the release of her mother. Thank God Professor Okonjo is still alive to tell her story today and she will not be silenced.
It is extremely insensitive and, in fact, inhumane for Falana and his sponsors to level false accusations against someone like Dr Okonjo-Iweala who went through this kind of searing personal ordeal for her principled fight against corruption.

CONCLUSION
Falana’s attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely is a disservice to law, justice and the image of the country. It is sad that a person who had earned some prominence as a human rights lawyer now tramples on the human rights of others as a political jobber.
He and his sponsors are engaged in nothing but media harassment, cyber bullying and intimidation against innocent persons like Dr Okonjo-Iweala for political and pecuniary gain. That is why Nigerians should not give in to Falana’s self-imposed Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA).

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Media Adviser to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

REINCANATION

A STRANGE OCCURENCE THAT'S STILL IN DOUBT.

Ever before the white men came with the Christian religion and Western civilization, our great grandfathers in Igboland (in Nigeria, West Africa) knew about reincarnation, which they called in local language, “Ịlọ ụwa” (a return to the world). They knew and also believed in life beyond, which they call “Ala-mụọ”. By “Ala-mụọ”, they mean the inner realms not just the fairyland of folkstories. It is at ‘Ala-mụọ’ that they imagine their noble ancestors to be living and interceding for them before “Chi-na-eke” (the God that creates) and “Ofo-na ọgụ” (Gods operating force) that balances things in nature including the yearly climatic conditions vital for their agriculture. It is at the same “Ala-muo” they believe their dead relations to be residing after physical death and from there would reincarnate probably to those that were their kin in their past life.

In Igboland, our forefathers’ knowledge of life beyond the present one on earth is well understood to be transmigration of human souls through the seven worlds of being. In Igboland, when a good child or wife does quite a good turn to an old father or mother; in many occasions, the elderly ones are heard making such comments as “Ezi Nwam/nwunyem, ịgakwa abụ nwam /nwụnyem, ụwam ụwa asaa” – meaning “my good child/ wife, you will continue to be my child/wife in my seven worlds of being”. This is an indication that our great Igbo ancestors knew and believed in the doctrine of seven rounds and seven races in the evolutionary cycles of mankind.

There are many apparent factors that convince the Igbos in their belief in reincarnation. The reappearance of bodily marks of deceased persons on the body of new born baby is one basis for the Igbos belief in reincarnation. In the circumstance of mentally ill people who were violent in a past life and were constrained wearing handcuffs or ankle restraints for a long time before they died; it is believed that the scar of the wound caused by the handcuffs does appear on the wrists or ankles of some of them upon their reincarnation. It is same with those unfortunate people who perished by fire in a traumatic accident; the scars of burns appear on the body of some such cases upon reincarnation. When marks such as I have pointed out appear on the body of an infant in whose family somebody in the past had such a handcuff or died in a fiery accident; no further proof will be needed to accept that the deceased has come back.

The occurrence of a child prodigy is called, “Ebibi-ụwa”, in Igbo language, meaning Nature’s imprint. Those born with their pre-incarnation intellectual and physical abilities are seen as yet another proof for the Igbos belief in reincarnation. According to Dr Onyike. In my home town, Umuahia, South Local Government in Abia State, Nigeria, there lived a renowned traditional medicine man called Nna-na-Mgbọrọggụ. Nna-na Mgbọrọgwụ was very famous in the early 1950s. My own father who was his senior in age, told me then that Nna-na-Mgbọrọgwụ was an exceptional human being. At the age of seven, he went to the bush behind their house and collected herbs which he compounded with other things and used the resultant medicine to cure his father’s uncle from the dreaded disease, tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis at that time was considered such a terrible threat to others in the village, that the poor suffers were ostracized from their own homes to a hut in the bush where such an unfortunate sufferer would be left to die. This young medicine man’s cure of his own uncle was like an advertisement for what was to be his mission in his present lifetime. People started approaching his parents with different health problems which this little boy efficiently managed. He did not go to school because he started the work of traditional medicine man at a very early age. Nna-na-Mgbọrọgwụ is an example of a man who points one’s mind to the possibility of his being a reincarnation of a forefather of his family. “Nna-nna” (fore father) “mgbọrọgwụ” (medicinal roots), when put together it gives the understanding, “our forefather who was medicinal root himself”, or knows all about roots for healing.

Names such as those mentioned below are very common in Igboland. They are a true indication of the Igbos belief in reincarnation. Nna-nna (the father of his father); Nne-nna (the mother of his father); Nne-ji (my brother or sister); Nna-ji (my half brother/half sister); and Nwa-nne Daa (the brother or sister of my mother). None of these names is repeated in the family because they specify the ancestors. Relations in this life pay the child the same high respect they were accustomed to pay to the deceased grandparent or relation of their father. Some people in Igboland are bearing their pre-incarnation names and enjoying the high level of respect due to a grandfather /mother.

Despite the strong influence of Christianity in Igbo cultures and traditions, reincarnation has remained a heart belief of the Igbos which the orthodox religion has found hard to abolish. Before the conveyors of Christian faith, the Igbos already had their own well established and complex religion which was indirectly Theocentric, a sequel to the order of worship. Reincarnation itself is not a virtually conspicuous tradition that attracts outright condemnation or attack from the preachers of Christian faith in

Nigeria. Nor does such a belief pose any threat or danger to it, like some barbaric customs of ancient times, e.g. twin killing, human sacrifice, etc. which attracted much concern in Nigeria and thankfully were stopped by the authorities.

This are what people have to say about this.

Anonymous

I do ,I don't belong to any sector of Christian religion, nor am I Muslim. So, I am free to think independently. I have spent a lot of years watching young babies doing things that they weren't taught, those experinces have brought me to my conclusion.

Anonymous

Reincarnation happens of course just that christianity and islam, our imported ''Tokunbo'' religions, have turned us away from examining such things.

Now it's all about ''Jesus''.

What time is it? Ask ''Jesus''.

Do we survive death? Ask ''Jesus''

Are we immoral spirits in a temporary physical encasement? ''Shush. Jesus alone is the answer''.

Our brains have been blocked of all thought and introspection by ''Jesus'

Ochugal

I have spent a lot of years watching young babies doing things that they weren't taught, those experinces have brought me to my conclusion.

Mark

I believe in reincarnation most times i feel i'm living a second life. when i was much younger i use to have dreams about certain events. sometimes i see some people i feel i've met before. as in much older people who don't seem to have the slightest idea who i am.

I do believe in reincarnation and I find the topic highly fascinating. The 'Obanje' phenomenon in Nigeria is form of reincarnation right?

I have heard stories of toddlers speaking languages fluently that neither Parents of other family members had any knowledge of. There was also the story of a little boy born in an obscure village in India who kept telling his 'new' mother that he was a shopkeeper Mumbai with a wife and two children. This boy knew his previous name and also the names of his wife and children. To cut a long story short, the boys 'old' family was found in Mumbai and reunited with him. It was quite fascinating watching this young boy of around 7 asking 'his' kids who were now teenagers if they had done their homework and what they had eaten.

Stella.

Using the Bible to refute the reincarnation theory is incorrect. Have you read about Elijah and John the Baptist. Jesus is also refered to as God incarnate! There are quite a few examples of reincarnation in the Bible. Me think the question is 'WHAT IS REINCARNATION'?

Amanda.

they say am my grand-ma's incarnate . . . i look like her and take decisions like her they say.

I dunno wat to believe anyways. I'm sha not a ghost.

James.

judgement follows. There is nothing like reincarnation. Reincarnation is an illusion. I was told that my grand father reincarnated our lastborn but our last born doesn't know my grandpa or have any knowledge of him. Unless you wish an evil spirit in life and family.I ask again, if not Jesus but who... Am i going to call on father or mother for assistance. Hell is real and heaven is real. Repent, tomorrow might be too late for you because you may sleep this night and never wake, i guess ur hope is reincarnatiom but bear in mind that GOD is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that he shall reap. Jesus loves you.

Tell us your experience and what

you believe.

www.ala-igbo.blogspot.com

Twitter @alaigbo2

OSU PRACTICE AND MARRIAGE IN IGBOLAND

EFFECT OF OSU PRACTICE AND MARRIAGE IN IGBO LAND

A Madness That Should Be Totally Curbed Because of Its Effect on Human Right.

The Osu caste system is an age-old practice in South Eastern Nigeria that discourages social interaction and marriage with an ostracised group of persons. David aduge-ani, stanley uzoaru and okechukwu obeta write on the plight of the stigmatised individuals
The practice of the outcast system popularly known as the Osu tradition in Igbo land dates back to the era of slave trade and war in the eastern states where victors took away their enemies as slaves, some of the slaves in turn were sacrificed to the gods and later branded “Osu” in their new settlement.
The Osu caste system has prevented many young men and women from the South East from marrying people of their choice. This tradition has not only led to a high number of ladies and young men remaining unmarried, it has equally led to frustration among this group.
In 2012 for instance, Emeka a businessman who lives in Spain, through a friend, met a young lady called Amarachi who lives in Abuja on facebook and fell in love with her and their love kept growing day by day. They spoke every day on phone and exchanged messages and pictures on facebook.
The love they had for each other even increased when Emeka and Amarachi realised they are from the same state – Anambra and even from almost the same community. While Emeka is an indigene of Amichi town in Nnewi local government, Amarachi is an indigene of Igboukwu in Aguata local government area. ALAIGBO.COM gathered that Amichi is a stone throw from Igboukwu community and people in both communities go to each other’s markets.
“We had the interest of each other because of the closeness of our communities to each other. We courted for about seven to eight months before we finally agreed to marry each other,” Emeka told ALAIGBO.COM.
He said after months of courtship they arranged for a proper introduction in their family home. So he returned home from Spain while Amarachi travelled from Abuja to meet him in Lagos, so that they could travel to the village on the fixed date for the ceremony. Every necessary arrangement was made in the village of the wife-to-be for the marriage introduction. All her brothers and sisters equally returned to the village for the ceremony.
“We met in Lagos in my brother’s house; she actually travelled from Abuja to meet me. This was to enable us make all the arrangements and also for us to travel together to the village for the formal introduction. We also arranged on how the introduction was going to be conducted, including the payment of the dowry and other matters.
“However, on the fixed day, when my family members and I visited the home of my would-be in-laws, we noticed an unusual reception from the family members. When we asked for our would-be-wife, we were told that she went somewhere, which was unusual. My family members were not treated well during and even after our discussion on the marriage introduction; we were told not to worry about the marriage anymore but to go back home and wait for a feedback from them. Up till this moment, I tell you that feedback never came from the family of the wife I wanted to marry,” he narrated.
Amarachi told ALAIGBO.COM that even before the arrival of the family of her groom-to-be on the fixed date for the introduction, her family had already concluded that the marriage would not take place because the man who wanted to marry her is from an ‘Osu’ family.
“On our way home for the introduction ceremony, I received a call from one of my brothers to inform me that the marriage introduction was not going to work out, because my family discovered that the man in question is from the family of ‘Osu’ caste. So the kindred had already met and concluded that the marriage would not hold. On the scheduled date for the marriage introduction, I was locked inside a room in the family compound to prevent me from meeting the man who wanted to marry me or any member of his family during their visit,” she said.
After the incident, every effort made by both Amarachi and Emeka for the marriage to take place proved abortive.
“Because we loved each other and wanted the marriage to work out, we did everything possible. For instance, we visited a Rev Father in our village church and the traditional ruler of my village. Our Rev Father even advised us that the only way he could wed us in the church was for us to go to a court and pay the dowry there and then collect an evidence of payment that we are married. He said with that, he would have a reason to wed us. However, all the efforts we made did not yield any positive result,” she says. ALAIGBO.COM also gathered that there was a man in the same Igboukwu village who married a woman from an Osu family. Before the marriage, every effort to prevent him from marrying the woman was fruitless as the man went ahead and married the woman. What the family did after the marriage was to excommunicate the man from the family. They even gave him another surname different from that of the original family and was asked to pack out of the family compound to another land where the man lived with the wife till his death recently.
In Imo State, the practice still prevails as several efforts by both traditional and religious institutions to abolish it has remained unproductive.
However, efforts of the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri diocese, His Grace, Anthony Obinna who has been at the forefront of the eradication of the age-long practice through his annual Odenigbo lecture to sensitise the people of the state on the need to abandon the practice has recorded some positive results.
Some of those branded as Osu who do not intermarry with the freeborn known as “Diala” now do so after the annual lecture by the clergy. Nevertheless, majority of the residents of the state still believe in the outdated tradition.
When asked if he could marry an Osu, Mr Uchenna Obi from Amakohia in Owerri West local government area of the state said, “this is a difficult question, my people do not marry an Osu; even if I defy their tradition and marry such a person, I would be ostracised from the community.”
The tradition has made the act of marriage so rigorous as the intended couples have to embark on investigative journey to their different families to find out if they are not from Osu clan.
However, there seems to a good tiding about the Osu caste system in Anambra State as His Royal Majesty, the traditional ruler of Isseke kingdom, Igwe Emmanuel Nnabuife said, the system practiced in many communities in Igbo land long ago has been abolished in virtually all the communities in the state.
Nnabuife said the Osu caste system is primitive, retrogressive and does not conform with the “best international practice of human rights.”
Stating that the practice has already been abolished in all communities in Anambra State, Igwe Nnabuife who was a one-time presidential aspirant under the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) disclosed that traditional rulers in Igbo land have already resolved to sponsor a bill to be passed by Houses of Assembly in all the South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo to enact laws abolishing the practice of Osu caste system.
According to Nnabuife, all the forests in Anambra state where the deities existed had been destroyed in all communities.
Also, the traditional ruler of Nri Kingdom, the acclaimed ancestral home of the Igbos, His Majesty, Eze Obidigwe Onyesoh stated that Osu caste system no longer exists in most communities because it is discriminatory and does not encourage social cohesion among people.
The president-general of Nawgu community in Dunukofia local government area, Mr Chuks Ilozuo, stated that the culture is not practiced in his community but described Osu caste practice as a violation of human rights, adding that the practice is retrogressive.

Alaigbo.com. : IGBO STUDIES ASSOCIATION CHICAGO

Alaigbo.com. : IGBO STUDIES ASSOCIATION CHICAGO: 2016 CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPER - CHICAGO 2016 THE 14 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IGBO STUDIES ASSOCIATION Theme NDI IGBO...

IGBO STUDIES ASSOCIATION CHICAGO

2016 CONFERENCE
CALL FOR PAPER - CHICAGO 2016
THE 14 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IGBO STUDIES ASSOCIATION
Theme
NDI IGBO IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
Dominican University, River Forest (Chicago), Illinois, USA
May 12-14
The Igbo Studies Association (ISA) invites scholars and professionals working on all aspects of the Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria to submit paper, panel, poster, and/or roundtable proposals for its 14th annual international conference to be held on May 12-14 at Dominican University, River Forest (Chicago), Illinois, USA. Through this annual event, scholars and experts gather to deliberate on diverse facets of the Igbo experience and explore ways of advancing the rich Igbo heritage. The conference theme for 2016, Ndi Igbo in the Global Context, is timely; it will give participants the opportunity to reflect on Igbo consciousness as well as the numerous economic, social, political, and security accomplishments Ndi Igbo have made and the challenges they still face both at home and abroad. The place of Ndi Igbo in Nigeria and the world today demands closer examination especially in the face of threats to their lives and wellbeing from xenophobia, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, economic anxiety, human and drug trafficking, investment dilemma, youth restiveness, educational crisis, brain drain, political violence and marginalization, kidnapping, and unemployment. This conference explores how Igbo indigenous cultural values, attitudes, and worldview could serve as a vehicle in constructing a more positive and meaningful relationship among Ndi Igbo and with their neighbors within and outside Nigeria.
For this conference, the ISA welcomes proposals that assess the engagement of Ndi Igbo with the ever- changing and complex world. Igbo efforts at national and international integration present both risks and opportunities. How Ndi Igbo could maximize the opportunities and minimize the risks in the globalized world of the 21st century is the overriding question for this conference. Presenters are encouraged to propose topics that advance the conversation on the contributions the Igbo have made and could still make in (re)shaping both Nigeria and the world in which equal access to social, political, and economic opportunities could be guaranteed. We hope that your presentations will incorporate original research in understanding and proffering solutions to the obstacles and challenges facing the Igbo people.
Panels will engage with a variety of topics including but not limited to:
1. Globalization, Language Endangerment, and Preservation
2. Ako Na Uche : Understanding the World
3. Migration and Xenophobia
4. Inter-Ethnic Relations, Conflicts, and Fear of Domination
5. Lessons of Indigenous Religion and Igbo Consciousness
6. Linkages and Connections: Igbo in Diaspora
7. Economic Anxiety, Investment and Human Security
8. Illicit Wealth, Drug, and Human Trafficking
9. Ogbu Ara Obara: Terrorism, Political Violence, and Safety
10. Youth Restiveness and Unemployment
11. Educational Advances, Crises and Brain Drain
12. Political Evolution, Democracy, and Money Politics
13. Social Security and Stability
14. Kidnapping, Morality, and Decadence
15. Biafran War, Memories, and Lessons
16. Social Solidarity and Pan-Ndi-Igbo Political Organizations
17. Principles and Practices of Human Rights
18. Nka Na Uzu : Science, Technology, and Development
19. Sports and Youth Development
20. Gender, Class, and Igbo Values
Guidelines:
Submit an abstract of 250-300 words with your paper/poster/roundtable title, name, current position and institutional affiliation, mailing addresses, email, and phone number. Your abstracts must discuss the scope of the paper, the research methodology, possible sources, and tentative thesis or hypothesis. Those whose abstracts are accepted will have to pay a $50 non-refundable part payment for conference registration.
Deadline:
All proposals must be submitted online and submission deadline is January 31, 2016. Completed papers are due by March 1, 2016. To submit your proposal, click on this link: http://igbostudiesassociation.org/index.php/submission
Notification:
You will be notified on the status of your submission and other program details by email. Selected papers will be considered for publication and inclusion in either the Igbo Studies Review or a post-conference edited book. You should, therefore, write your papers as if they are being prepared for publication. Presentations can be made in English or Igbo. Participants are responsible for the conference fee and their travel and lodging costs. It is important that those who will require U.S. visas submit their proposals and completed paper early since they will need them for the visa interviews. For more information on the Igbo Studies Association, including membership and other matters, please visit us at http://www.igbostudiesassociation.org/
For more Inquiries, please contact
Ogechi Emma Anyanwu, PhD
Conference Chair
Department of History
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY 40475
Phone: 859-248-1394

Email: isaconference@yahoo.com