What do you say about Ololo?

"Ololo's firms emerged the highest debtors to three of the troubled banks- Finbank, Afribank and Oceanic Bank – with a combined total non-performing loan of N88.3 billion. His indebtedness (or rather that of his companies), raised eyebrows. Not a few wondered how he could have used his companies to secure such massive loans from the banks without making a mark as an entrepreneur with manufacturing concerns and businesses that create wealth and employ thousands from the labour market. The recurring question was how did he manage to instill so much confidence in the banks to get them to extend his companies such massive facilities.
...
The official, in defense of his boss said Ololo borrowed the loans in good faith and has every intention of paying. He said, Ololo could never had thought that things will go bad in the stock market and blamed the banks for egging him on and getting it wrong. "If you want to borrow money from the bank, the practice is that you provide something that is equivalent to the amount you are borrowing. But in this case, it was the share certificates that were used to collaterise the loans, so when their prices fell, he could not repay the loans. It is largely the systemic failure that is responsible for this crisis. He acted in good faith in accordance with the dictates of his enlarged clientele. He is a reputable stockbroker and portfolio manager who used his ingenuity to create liquidity in the capital market." (...Read More)

Although he's a defendant in a civil suit relating to fraud, I would pay to learn from the guy. About the markets, about ethics and the vulnerabilities of the market, about where he screwed up, about how to keep up (or come out tops) as a country/continent in the hypertraded, hyperleveraged world.
Say what's on your mind.
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Nigeria: E for Effort

In July, I was in the Youth Working Group of National Vision 2020.
Here, on the website of the National Planning Commission are the reports of the National Technical Working Groups: http://www.npc.gov.ng/downloads.php
It is expected that ordinary Nigerians with feedback do their own part to shape the final Vision 2020 document. That is like a mission and vision statement for Nigeria and a plan to make the country one of the 20 largest economies by the year 2020.

I can't find the reports of the Youth Working Group, that will be in a later post, especially if you ask.

Until we lightupnigeria, I suppose we'll always seem to be a far underdeveloped country. Scandals abound, corruption is no myth, and the nation is rife with waste.
YET
We must start somewhere, and I see pockets of progress alongside some attempt to set up structures for a future of prosperity and good governance. Being in Abuja briefly in July and seeing the number of people working in civil society (NGOs and pressure groups) gives one some hope. Lagos has visibly improved. Maybe one or two other states has seen a non-crap leader.

All said, I'll grade Nigeria today a solid E for Effort. I hope that this moves us up to higher grades in future, away from F for f*rubbish. Some of y'all have to be the MVPs that will put in outsize effort and make outsize impact, considering the reality that so many people are working hard to pull us all down. Screw all the thieving liars that want to see things improve for themselves and not for the millions of their brothers and sisters suffering. Is all I have to say.