by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
We sincerely welcome you to the month of October 2019.
We also wish Nigeria and all Nigerians a Happy 59th Independence anniversary celebration. Indeed, our country has come a long way amidst the chequered history, but in all of these we are grateful for His sustenance and for keeping us together as one nation under God.
Without much ado, let’s go straight to the subject of this article – Getting what you want and wanting what you get. Why are we examining this subject? Few days ago, a close friend of mine, whom I hold in very high esteem because of his passion for research and intellectualism, sent some reports to me about Nigeria economy. All the reports point to the fact that the economy, which is currently looking bad may likely get worse. Although this writer is an optimist, who believes that all things will work for good, but life has taught him to also be a realist, who should look at things as they are or as they may be and then plan accordingly. This is indeed a profound wisdom which enables one to be proactive (planning ahead before events happen), rather than reactive (trying to act or remedy the situation after the events must have happened).
Please find below the excerpts from the reports:
– Nigeria economy in 2019 is fraught with dysfunctional policies and structural rigidities.
– With the economy not growing, now slower than the population growth, the government will panic in coming years to cover expenses.
– The panic will lead to currency devaluation. Unless Nigeria can marginally grow economically at say 5% in GDP in coming quarters, the Naira will lose value to leading global currencies.
– The news that Nigeria’s economy cooled down to 2.05 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to 2.38 per cent in Q4’18 has left investors wondering about the chances of growth gathering momentum during the second half of the year.
– If a global slowdown is triggered due to the trade tensions, economic growth in Nigeria may follow suit, meaning the CBN will face more difficult challenges to support the naira and the wider economy through monetary policy.
– Loans from commercial banks to the real estate industry, which began to drop over a year ago, have maintained the downward trend.
– An analyst said ‘the state of the economy had created a situation where people had become more concerned with feeding and other endeavours than investing.
And so on, and so forth.
The essence of this article is to put us on a cautionary mode, so as not to lose what we already had in the process of trying to get what we don’t have. Few years ago, this writer saved up some money in order to acquire his first internet modem, which was a Nokia phone modem powered by the defunct Multilinks Telecommunications Network. On the day of purchase, I was so excited that I rushed to the telecommunication company at Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, and I bought the phone which was quite expensive then. However, on arriving home, I observed that I had lost my other phone. I went back to the telecommunication company, but I couldn’t find the other phone, and that’s how it was lost. What played out here is that in the process of wanting to get a more desirable phone, I ‘carelessly’ lost the former one.
Similar scenario happens to most people whereby they lose what they already had in the process of trying to get what they don’t have. For instance, if someone has N1million, and in a bid to increase that to N2million, he invests the money in the stock market or does business with it, but unfortunately, immediately after the stock purchase, the market turns south and in a matter of few months, the N1million becomes N100,000; or it could be that the business performed woefully that the whole of the N1million is lost. I know many people can relate to this. But, how can we guard against such situations most especially in times like this?
We offer the following 7 suggestions;
1. Appreciate what you already have. Many people don’t appreciate what they have, but instead are more preoccupied on what they don’t have. Often times, this is what lead to depression. It is very important that in the pursuit of trying to get what we want, we should also want (value) what we already got. The irony is that many people will be happy to get just one-tenth of what we currently have. We don’t seem to appreciate what we have until it’s lost, but must we lose what we have before we appreciate it?
2. Never invest or go into a business you’re not familiar with. This is one of the most important rules of business/ investment. Before you commit your hard-earned money into any venture, try and understand what it entails, calculate the risk and return, and the worse-case scenario if the business or investment goes bad. Here, you’re advised to look before you leap.
3. Beware of ‘too-good-to-be-true’ offers. During tough times, schemers devise various means of luring people to fall for their schemes. Most often, these people achieve their plans by offering their victims irresistible and too-good-to-be-true offers. Many have lost fortune by falling prey to such schemes. These bad people always exploit the greed nature of man to achieve their objective. Examples of these are Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent businesses. Don’t throw away caution because of seeming anticipated gain to be made. You can never be too careful in this regard.
4. Save more, invest less. This advice may seem unorthodox, unconventional and also ‘unprofessional’, because the advice we get every time from ‘professionals’ is to invest more and save less. This writer has learnt by experience that in difficult times, it’s better to save and you know the money is in the bank or in other fixed instruments such as fixed deposits and treasury bills, than risky investments. There’s time for everything. Every good stock trader knows that there’s a time to buy stock and there’s also a time to sell. At this time, emphasis should be on saving, and if you must invest, do so after full conviction that it is the right thing to do.
5. Never run out of cash. Cash will always be king. It’s a very bad feeling to be stranded financially. In periods of economic hardship, it is those that have liquid cash that will be able to take advantage of good deals or offers, and many of such deals are always rampant at these times as people will have to sell what they have in order to get what they need.
6. The need for strategic planning with foresight. Success is as a result of foresight and planning with appropriate execution. Planning will make one to be proactive, rather than reactive. Look and plan ahead; make and take sound decisions. With foresight and strategic planning, losses are minimized to a large extent. Remember, he who fails to plan, plans to fail’.
7. Believe in God and believe in yourself. God knows all things and He rules in the affairs of men. Our very existence and survival lies in Him. There have always been difficult times (including famine) since the ancient times, but the good thing is that God always provide for His own. When we believe in God and do what pleases Him, He will never neglect us, but He shall direct our ways in the right direction. Believing in God is good, but you also need to believe in yourself to do what God is directing you to do.
The above points are not exhaustive, but only an attempt. The emphasis once again is to value and jealously guard what we already have, while striving to achieve and get what we don’t yet have. We shall succeed together!
We wish you the very best in the month of October 2019.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment and advisory, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
Meanwhile, please find below the powerpoint presentations of our current properties for sale in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Thank you.
Affordable Properties For Sale in LAGOS, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in ABUJA, FCT, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, Nigeria
