Who Am I?

"Man, know thyself!'- Greek Proverb

I have recently launched into the entrepreneurial market and this has caused me to reflect greatly on my life and times.

It just struck me that I have been helping Multinationals in starting-up certain segments of their corporate structures.

Permit me to give you a run down of what I have been doing since I got my Ba in the University since 2001:

My NYSC was in 2003 in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state of south eastern Nigeria.

In 2005, I worked with British Airways town office in Lagos, Nigeria. I worked as a Check-in Agent and I was charged with the goal of migrating customers towards the use of online check-in.
Today, BA customers can now purchase tickets online, select seats, check-in online and fly.

In 2006, I was selected amongst a team of 6 to start up the Kenya-Airways office in Lagos, Nigeria. I was also in a select team of 3 that test run the migration of our old reservation system to a customized Altea-Amadeus application. I can remember clearly, the night we all kept watch as we watched over the smooth migration by our "techies" and kept tabs with Corporate Head Office personnel in Cameroon to see if all was going well. Those were interesting days indeed. It was also this year that I first traveled out of the country on a course.

Between October 2008-2010, I was sent out to pioneer a satellite church in Surulere and in 1 year we grew from 2-98 members. The church still stands even as I assist my Pastor today in a Group church in Eric Moore, Surulere, Lagos.

Also in September 2008, I joined a renowned Nigerian Bank. We were a 2 man team. My first task in this bank was drawing up an international & local travel budget for the 2009 financial year. This task can only be likened to what is called "the baptism of fire".

I had to liaise with the Technology team to spool expense reports, then I had to project what the expenditure for the new year would look like. The budget was not complete till I kept vigil (yes, I slept) in the office. It is my nature to get things done at all cost. I paid this price the next year also, till I got a hang of it. 

I had an amazing time in this bank as I had to come up with ways of keeping costs at its barest minimum (each year). In 2011, I designed a request system where staff could request for local air tickets and choose from over 82 hotels in Nigeria. This was epic. We were able to reduce travel cost by 22% bank wide and it earned me a promotion in 2012.

I got married to my heart throb (Rejoice) in 2010 and she has brought me un-imaginable grace from God plus 2 beautiful kids.

In 2013, I had to join the Bank's 24/7 call center and this was quite interesting. With my call center experience in the Aviation industry, it was easy to blend in. I came to terms with another side of this unique bank. With the millions of retail customers the bank was enlisting, came the challenge of managing account related issues. You see, the banking halls could no longer manage the crowd, so we had to push customers towards the use of e-channels. We were charged with the function of managing the vast array of Customers bearing in mind that each customer was unique and very important.

I resigned in June 2014 to jump start my own business.

I had to write this all down this down because, it dawned on me that if I could do all of this, then I can make a profitable difference in the travel and tour industry.

Funny thing is, I had been test running certain aspects of my business to see its profitability and the response was quite encouraging. Visit www.chronussolutions.org  for more on what I will be offering.
It may not be easy, but am sure its going to be worth it.

So lets go make that money!!!

Be inspired.

Till we meet again, keep winning.

Twitter: @MrChiaka

The Evolution of Change

"Change is the only constant thing in life" - Anonymous

The concept of change goes beyond terms and definitions. Its a driving force that is embedded in our very DNA's. Whether we like it or not, from the time we are born, the change effect kicks in. We cry, eat, excrete, stretch and grow.

This force governs everything we come in contact with. From our education, politics and even business. Our very syllabus is evolving. Previously established educational concepts and propounded theories et al are being changed. The worlds very socio-political landscapes are changing.

The rise of the middle class and the freedom of speech and association started the "arab spring" that culminated in the famous #Occupy movement.

I hear people in Nigeria complain that "talk" on the social media has no effect but I disagree. We did not have this level of freedom in the time of IBB and of course Abacha. Imagine the likes of Omojuwa & El Rufai talking this much and replicate the events of missing journalists and Saro Wiwa. Get my point?

The level of freedom to speak and associate has indeed changed. We saw it gradually ease off from the civil tenure of President Obasanjo all through to the advent of President Goodluck Jonathan. Remember the stand-off of the #OccupyNigeria campaign? Who would have thought that it was possible for the people of Nigeria to bring the economy of Nigeria to a standstill and stand up to its President at the same time?

Change has hit the Nigerian business scene. From the reduced prices of GSM telecommunication, to competitive internet services. Now, we can see a rise in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) firms. People can now search the web, get new ideas for their businesses, advertise through facebook and other social media channels and even work from home.

Even the banks are not left out of change. The CBN's initiative under Gov Lamido Sanusi has reduced the excess cash flow in the economy and helped drive the use of cashless alternatives. The international economic community have even accepted our payment cards for cross border trade.

What this means is that, I can sit in the comfort of my home, login to my internet, purchase items from far away, US, London or even China, pay with my bank's Master or Visa card and have my items delivered to my home.

Now, to refuse to accept change will be our greatest undoing. Not to embrace the freedom of the social media to air our views will be to do ourselves a great evil.

Refuse to be left behind. That phone  (Black Berry, Samsung, Apple, Techno etc) is not just for talking. You can connect to the world, air your views and even trade. So don't just stay there. "Get cracking". Get internet access and hit the world wide web (www).

Search the web, find out new ways of doing business. Get an education and above all, add value.

I look forward from hearing your views after reading this piece.

Till we meet again, keep winning.

Twitter: @MrChiaka

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The Winner In You: The History of EGBU. in Owerri, Imo State.

The Winner In You: The History of EGBU. in Owerri, Imo State.: History According to oral tradition, Egbu existed over a thousand years before the advent of the Europeans. The settlement dates as fa...

The History of EGBU. in Owerri, Imo State.

History

According to oral tradition, Egbu existed over a thousand years before the advent of the Europeans. The settlement dates as far back as the 9th century A.D. From genealogical reckoning the great grand father of Egbu was OFO AKURU, the proto - Alaenyi progenitor, who according to records of ethnological studies of Ndigbo, lived in the 6th century A.D. in the forest lands of the present Umuorii Uratta in the Obibi Uratta autonomous community .. Ofo Akuru’s first son was called Ome. According to oral tradition Ome was a polygamist and had many children which included ENYI, EZELUKWU and NNEORIE. Ome according to history was a tactful and peaceful man. His strong control over his large family however marked him out as a strict disciplinarian. 

Enyi became the head of the family after Ome's death and he had five sons namely: IHITTA OGADA, AWAKA, EGBU, OWERRI and NAZE. It must be mentioned that there is another legend that places Owerri as part of Uratta. According to this legend Owerri fled from Uratta having taken the heart of the cow which he bought for his father’s funeral which by tradition belonged to Alum. When his other brothers conspired to kill him, he fled to Ugwu Ekwema to escape the inevitable consequence of his wanton action. 

Enyi’s five sons are called ALAENYI. The five towns that make up Alaenyi have similar traditions and customs which served them as a bond of unity. Enyi like his father Ome maintained the unity of his family. It was after his death that internal rancor hit the unity and solidarity of the sons. Enyis’ children separated and moved to new settlements with their respective children. In spite of geographical movement the said cultural and political affinity was maintained. The early settlement of Enyi and his five sons was at a place called "APU OTU OBO" of Egbu. The tree 'Apu' gave a wonderful shade and provided a rallying centre for relaxation and social entertainment. Houses were built around the Apu tree. The houses were made of sticks, palm fronts, 'Uga' and"Etere”. Egbu, the third son of Enyi was dynamic, witty and highly industrious. He was a polygamist and had three sons; OKOCHI, UBA EZE and UBA. Okochi the first son of Egbu was the father of Ayalu and Okweke. Okweke had a son called Ofeuzo. As a result of the blood relationship between Ayalu and Okweke one can understand the indissoluble ancestral affinity between Ayalu and Ofeuzo till this day. Uba Eze the second son was the father of Mpama and Ofomeje or Umuofo (Umunwahu and Ugama were also kindred’s in Mpama). Uba the third son of Egbu had only one son called lshiuzo. 

Egbu and his large family lived peacefully but after his death sporadic misunderstandings and quarrels led to the dispersion of some members of the family to other lands. These emigrants still maintained close relationship with their kith and kin at Egbu. They continued to attend the famous Egbu cultural festival. "Mgbugbuzo" for a long time. Every Egbu person in Diaspora observed the "Afor" market day which agreed with the "Afor” market day at Egbu. The migration thinned down the population of Egbu and left her with five villages. 

Many factors were responsible for the emigration of some of our people but the dominant factor was the Ihitta Egbu incident. According to oral tradition, a group of Ihitta Egbu people killed one Nwagwu by accident. Embittered and incensed by the incident his brother Oformeje retaliated by killing Odogwu Onyikiri and his pregnant wife. This led to fighting and unrest which eventually caused the emigration of some of our people to distant places namely Egbu Ozuzu, Egbu Oguta and Egbu Nzam.

BY Obioha Egere

Leverage

I have observed that it takes more than a great idea to be a success.
The fallout of successful business plans and concept rise with leverage. To an extent, some great ideas must run on existing success stories. That way the public can trust an accept your brand and whatever product your brand represents.