Rullion's Blog

When faced with a decision,  we generally consider  only  the most obvious and visible information, a ccording to Chip and Dan Heath, authors of " Decisive: How To Make Better Choices in Life and Work ." However, that's rarely all we need to make a good decision, because we end up missing important facts outside of our immediate view. In their book, the Heath brothers share the "four villains of decision making," which often mislead us in our choices: Narrow framing  causes you to f ocus so much on your  immediate choices that you miss other options.  Confirmation bias  leads you to  seek out information that will confirm what you already believe. S hort-term emotion   blinds you from making the right choice, even if it should be completely obvious. Overconfidence  makes you believe you  know more than you actually do.  Fortunately, the Heath brothers also share some solutions to these problems. Here are their ...

It is a further boost for Nigeria’s retail market as foreign investors are in the country to feast on the retail boom with $500 million expected to finance the development of six retail malls in five major cities in the next 30 months.

The Lagos State Government yesterday initiated a rent-to-own housing policy, which it said, would basically step down 30 per cent equity contribution largely for artisans, traders and non-salary earners in the state. Also, the state government said the new policy would eventually lead to mortgage scheme, though it is designed to capture actors in the informal sector in Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS). The state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), disclosed this at a town hall meeting on Lagos HOMS which he addressed at Lagos TV complex alongside the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun Jeje and his Commerce and Industry counterpart, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, among others.

In a conscious effort to bridge Nigeria’s huge housing deficit which is currently put at about 17 million, the Federal Government had, among other thing,  established the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to provide quality and affordable housing to Nigerians.  James Emejo examines its impact on the mortgage sector It is estimated that it would require a minimum of N60 trillion to address the current housing deficit of which about 80 per cent of Nigerians live in indecent informal housing structures with no basic amenities and in deplorable conditions. Yet, the vision of the current administration under the Vision 2020 aspiration is to provide decent shelter for all Nigerians by 2020. Although this appears to be a daunting task for government to realize given the present economic realities and the country’s dependence on oil as major source of revenue, efforts have been put in place by government, notwithstanding, to actualise the target through innovative finan...

For many businesses, the most powerful type of marketing available does not have to break the  bank. It’s called grassroots marketing. Grassroots marketing is about targeting a small group, then allowing your message to spread.  Like any good marketing plan, the key to a successful grassroots marketing plan is starting with identifying your target audience. Thinking about those in your backyard is the best way to start. Ask yourself, “Who in my community could be a potential customer and how can I reach them?” 

The mandate given to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) by the Federal House of Representatives  to ensure the adoption of 42.5MPA grade of cement for construction in the country has been described as a game changer in the ongoing controversy of cement quality, reports Festus Akanbi Nigerians seem to have heaved a sigh of relief as lawmakers took a decision that has been described as a ‘milestone’ on the raging controversy concerning cement quality and uses in the country. In a 12-point recommendation on Tuesday (July 1, 2014), the House of Representatives adopted the report of Hon. Yakubu Dogara-led ad hoc committee on composition and pigmentation of cement quality which investigated the incidence of collapse buildings in the country. SON DG Joseph Odumodu

Worsening insecurity in Nigeria has not deterred foreign investors from buying its assets, Citigroup’s (C.N) country head said last week, citing $1.1 billion worth of Eurobonds it had traded for three local lenders so far this year. But any spread of attacks further south or to the commercial hub of Lagos could start to put even established investors off, Omar Hafeez told Reuters in an interview. The Boko Haram attacks have killed hundreds this year, with the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls making world headlines in April and overshadowing the country’s rise to overtake South Africa as the continent’s top economy. Nigeria also faces polls in 2015 that are likely to be the most closely fought since the end of military rule in 1999, with many fearing political violence and rampant spending on patronage, as it usually happens in election cycles. “The investment community is very well informed ... Nigeria is a loan market and financial investors have been tapping into tre...

Despite the awareness of facility management, the country still lacks a maintenance culture, the International Facility Management Association, Nigerian Chapter, has said. The association stated that the nonchalant attitude of Nigerians towards facility management was a contributing factor to the infrastructural decay in the country. A facility management instructor, Mr. John Martins, said the number and calibre of Nigerians in the facility management profession had increased over the years but that the management of infrastructure had yet to improve. He said, “Every time I come here, I see improvement in the calibre and professionalism of the people here; an example is that the class I teach is always better that the previous one. Though the instructions and materials are the same, but the quality of the people differ at every point in time. That is one of the best forms of professional achievement; the calibre of people, their experience and knowledge, and their interaction ...

Houston EB5, a real estate investment company, has said it is offering potential Nigerian investors the opportunity to stake their money on real estate developments in Houston, Texas in the United States. According to the firm’s partner in Nigeria, 3Invest Limited, the investment will include a luxury apartment complex in Downtown Houston, called Block 384, and permanent residency in the US through the EB-5 programme for investors. The Chief Executive Officer, 3Invest, Ms. Ruth Obih, said the company had stated raising funds for the project. She said, “This new project, which will be at an investment level of $500,000, has Randall Davis, a Houston-based luxury condominium developer and his partner in Houston EB5, Mexico City native and Houston entrepreneur, Roberto Contreras, excited about the development of the 240-unit, eight story Block 384 luxury apartment after starting the construction on the Astoria building, a 30-story condo tower on Post Oak Boulevard. “Thirty inves...

T he situation in the Nigerian housing market continues to worry observers and players as over 80 percent of the transactions in the market are on rentals. An unconfirmed report has it that home ownership level in the country is as low as 10 percent, meaning that a lot of people are renting. The situation is such that, in the cities, one person who owns a block of 10 flats accommodates, at least, three persons in each flat, meaning that there are 30 or more people tied to only one landlord. Johnson Chukwuma, a structural engineer and real estate consultant, blames this situation on low mortgage  access in Nigeria, explaining that people don’t have capacity to buy and so have to rent.