P.A.P.E.P is our acronym for Prime Assets People’s Empowerment Programme. We have being running this self-help, money making programme for over a year and the testimonies are just too much. Now, people are being sustained by what they make from this programme.

 

All you have to do is market any of our products/services to your friends, families, acquaintances, colleagues, your sphere of influence generally and you will be rewarded with commission.

 

It gladdened my heart the other day when Shola ( a member) first told me she’s securing an office space within a very busy commercialized street in Ikeja  the other day. The last time we spoke we was also going back to school (part-time) to further her education. Knowing that all these have been made possible by what she makes from this initiative is smoothening.

 

People this programme has impacted and still impacting are in their numbers. Do you want to talk of Biodun, who make an average of about N300,000 monthly from this programme and now has a branch office in

Ibadan. Or the likes of Saheed and Yewande, who while holding down their regular jobs still make between N20,000 – N120,000 monthly from PAPEP. Really the list is endless. We now have active members from outside the country.

 

To be a part of this, simply call our office on 234-(0)1-8964527 or send your request mail to realtypointoffice@yahoomail.com

 

Now, it is being reloaded and below is the full note I wrote to members about that;

 

Is it nice to be writing you at this moment and I would like to wish you a happy 2008.

 

Thank you for all you did for us in 2007, I hope it was worth your time and effort. Sincerely, you made our year. You were an important part of the good things and people the almighty God brought our way in 2007.

 

You made it worth all the effort. God bless you and reward you for the time, effort, support and resilience.

 

To take our partnership with you to the next level, REALTY POINT LIMITED is reloading your favourite and novel scheme – PAPEP.

 

PAPEP shall now have all the following opportunities available to members for marketing:

 

1. Members: Whenever you, an existing and registered PAPEP member introduces a new member to PAPEP you shall earn N1,000 from his registration fee.

 

      Note that registration fee shall be N6,000 per annum for new members and        membership renewable shall be N4,000 from February 2008.

 

      This way, getting people to join PAPEP alone has become enriching. Membership         of PAPEP shall not be opened forever; we actually have a target membership         count after which we shall have to close the doors till later. Refer people now that         the opportunity is still there.

 

2. Subscription Marketing: Prime Assets magazine, your real estate reference point is being repackaged as a full colour quarterly publication that will be strictly by subscription. At N3,000 per annual subscription (4 issues) we expect that it will be a good sell. Especially because you will always have it free as a PAPEP member and can get interested people to subscribe for their own copies instead of loaning out your when ever they ask it of you. You stand to make 15% commission on the subscription mount paid by your client. 

 

3. Advert Slots: We are coming up with a whole lot of advertising opportunities for our teeming followers and the real estate players. PAPEP members can now market advert spaces in our publications and coming television programmes. Imagine earning as much as 15-20% on an advert placement of about N1,000,000. That will be between N150,000  N200,000 cool cash.

 

4. Agency (To Let), Sale & Property Management: Can you remember ever being told by a friend, relation or colleague that he/she is looking for a property to let/buy or has a property to sell or better still looking for who will manage a property? If yes, then that has become an opportunity to make money. Just pass the information to us, we shall work to actualise it and reward you for the information and support you provide.

 

5. International Investment Property Marketing: You can now join in our international property marketing business. We have contractual relationships with developers in Dubai particularly to market their properties in Nigeria. We are also working on other countries like; Canada, UK, U.S.A,
   South Africa, etc.

 

6. Marketing Development Project: This is the one you are used to, you market our Estates for a commission.

 

OTHER INFORMATION: 

• You are not going to be left on your own doing all these as we provide adequate training through our regular meetings.

 

      We shall now be holding our meetings fortnightly (2weeks)Thursday , Time is          11am – 2pm maximum and venue shall always be within our office environment.

 

      We plan to invite other speakers as appropriate going forward.

 

• You are advised to follow the procedure spelt out by the account department for submitting your sales and claims monthly. This is to enable us serve everybody in time and appropriately.

 

• Kindly speak with the accountant Mr. Mayowa Adeyanju: 8964527 or the PAPEP coordination Officer Mr. Seun Osiyale: 07028023008 for further information.

 

• Check the following websites to further familiarize yourself with our company, products and services: www.realtypointlimited.com, www.primeestatesng.com, www.deboadejana.com, www.nigeriare.com, www.sackyourlandlord.com.

 

Earning money becomes very easy when you know that as a PAPEP member you can start from your area of strength marketing to your sphere of influence.   

This is our year, lets make it so together. 

Regards!

Telling folk tales are a form of relaxation where am coming from.  Stories about the tortoise- the wise/canny animal, Lion- king of the jungle, The big Elephant e.t.c were our first lessons on character and societal behaviour. They were usually delivered at night under the moonlight. I particularly remember my days in Mayflower Primary School, Ikenne, Ogun State.

May be that feeling of fun when reading or listening to stories never left me because I grew up still loving to hear stories. Only that now, I would rather read or listen to true life stories of successful people. My God, do I love autobiographies? I can pay anything for them.

That brings me to what I do like to share here today. We published the story of a man I admire so much in the last edition (13th) of our publication – Prime Assets and I do like to share it with my readers here.

Let me serve you  THE Story of the 47-year-old legal aristocrat and real estate mogul- Wale BABALAKIN (SAN)You will love it if you love to read about successful people like i do, here we go;

Up until now little or nothing was said or known about the man that is fondly referred to as Bob by friends and colleagues alike. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and astute businessman is considered to be Nigeria’s best private sector initiative in the aviation industry, with the domestic wing of the

Muritala

Muhammed

International

Airport undergoing a complete rebuild which would set it apart as

Nigeria’s own gateway pride thanks to his construction company- Bi-Courtney/ Stabilini Visinoni.

Towards the realization of this dream, Babalakin, one of

Nigeria’s nouveaux riches, has sacrificed the opulence of his many offices scattered around the country for a large but sparsely furnished make-shift office among the many that stands erected now at a place that will soon become an ultra-modern airport carpark. That is where he constricts his heavy frame virtually on a daily basis to monitor the progress of his all-time consuming passion — the airport project that would rival any of its type in the world on completion. In fact, BOB, has virtually relocated the headquarters of Stabilini Visinoni, the behemoth construction company where he is chairman, to the airport. He now lives, eats, sleeps and wakes this project being built on a Build Operate and Transfer, BOT, basis at a whopping construction cost of $200million.

Do not blame him. Babalakin, scion of Bolarinwa Babalakin, retired Justice of the Supreme Court, is passionate about

Nigeria. “

Nigeria is good. Yes, I agree that at a point things went bad… but Nigerians can create a company like Nestle. It is not beyond our capacity; what we need is focus,” he said. Focus, that has always characterised his every business and career move. “Avoid the company of those who tell you it is impossible,” he advises. At the time he lost the bid to work on the airport project, he was still focused and dogged about his determination to help give

Nigeria a facelift. This must have goaded the federal government to re-award the contract to him when the initial winner reneged on contractual obligations. After a few months of work, the government must be thanking its stars that the job was eventually given to Babalakin. Steadily, he has evolved into an impresario of leverage in using initiatives to change the landscape. Such is the mojo of the Gbongan, Osun State-born business tycoon.

Growing up

Born on July 1, 1960,

Sacred

Heart

Primary School,

Ibadan was where Babalakin began his episodic educational odyssey. Secondary school education was at the famous

Government

College, Ibadan, GCI, now in

Oyo

State, where the intellectual instincts of the ambitious lad were honed. Getting into GCI at the impressionable age of 10, with all the training and hardship, was not what he bargained for. “For a 10-year-old boy, I woke up before 6 am, had 30 minutes of grass cutting, 30 minutes of sweeping and had to be in the dining room at 7 am. Later on, I became a member of the cadet and I had to combine grass cutting, sweeping and jogging around the school as a cadet all before 7 am. If you are late, you have lost your food and you would still be punished for lateness,” he reminisced.

Despite the seeming hardship of those years, Babalakin is grateful because it taught him the virtues of discipline, team spirit and leadership. Hence, anytime he talks about GCI, a glint appears in his eyes while he seems to bob on his seat. “

Government

College,

Ibadan was interesting, I remember that it was the school where values were properly identified. It didn’t matter who your father was, what mattered was what you had to offer… Every student is a potential scholar,” he said. Considered to have considerable academic potential as a kid, “though I never really took my school work seriously”, young Babalakin had a plethora of noble courses to choose from.
Weaned on a family plinth that allowed for freedom of career choice, he decided to toe the line of his erudite dad. “My father was a very outstanding lawyer, but he never believed that he should influence a child’s career. He thinks children should be made to study what they actually want,” he said.

After his A levels at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Babalakin opted for the

University of

Lagos for his bachelor’s degree in Law. He got his LLB in 1981 and was called to the bar in 1982. He was just 22 years old. But the young man obviously was not content with that seemingly little achievement. Setting out to become a lawyer, Babalakin said, was with the mindset to be an outstanding one, and he worked very hard for it. Apart from blazing through school in flying colours, to the delight of his parents, Babalakin also bagged a Commonwealth scholarship which saw him doing his masters and doctorate, Ph.D., at the University of Cambridge, England.

Foray into investments

At 26, an age when his peers were probably still grappling with the realities of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examinations, Babalakin was already taking steady, assured steps up the ladder of success. With a Ph.D. in Law, conquering the legal profession was next. However, the course of his life was inadvertently changed by an Australian friend who opened his eyes to the vast opportunities in business and then added the unforgettable clincher: “You will get all the degrees but end up being poor.” Curiously, business was the last thing he ever wanted to dabble into. As a kid growing up, he said, “I thought business was for those who could not become good scholars.” That thought vanished many years ago in

England.

Foray into real estate
Babalakin’s first business venture was in

England where he sold a house belonging to his father, with his consent though. The profit he made on that deal made him take a deep introspection about the trajectory of his life. He realized one thing though: if he was to make it big in business or in the law profession, he had to come back home. “Having made money in Nigeria, I found the terrain so easy compared to

England, where I started. I realised that if you applied the parameter in England to Nigeria and you work as hard as you worked in England, you are bound to make five times more money in

Nigeria,” Babalakin said.

His romance with Stabilini Visinoni, where he now calls the shots began in 1989 when he contracted the company to help him construct a multi-purpose 10-storey building on

Campbell Street, Lagos

Island. By the end of that project, he had become very friendly with the directors in the company. Thus, he awarded another major project to them that is now known as

Bruno

Sheriff

Gardens, Ikoyi.

He never knew that the relationship he was unconsciously building would pay off someday. When the owners of Stabilini decided to sell off their controlling shares in the company, Babalakin stepped in with a N10 million offer and was made a director. This was in 1992. In 1999, he became the substantive chairman of Stabilini Visinoni, making him the first Nigerian to steer the Italian company’s activities.

Since then, he said, “we have been involved in series of developmental projects. But now, we have managed to articulate our business properly and realise we are in four major areas: infrastructural development, leisure, construction and investment. We invest in companies where we have interests but we don’t manage.

We do that under the umbrella of Investment Services Limited. But there are lots of sub-divisions under these areas.” The old Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, has also been purchased by Stabilini Visinoni which Babalakin averred would now be converted into luxury accommodation for Nigerians.
After the initial scepticism, the strapping Babalakin is not just an accomplished businessman, he is equally a successful professional.

In fact posted on his website is the extent to which his law firm of Babalakin & Co is involved in real estate “As a discerning commercial law firm that recognizes the relationship between Land/Real Estate (considered to be one of the factors of production) and commercial activities, the firm has one of the most extensive legal units dedicated solely to Real Estate and Construction in Nigeria . We have participated in various phases of conception, financing, construction and maintenance of at least three privately developed estates in Nigeria, (including the one generally regarded as the most successful private city estate in Nigeria, located in Lagos), and International Hotel under the Hyatt chain; in addition to various office and shopping complexes. We have also negotiated and advised a State government on the construction of a 22-room modern courthouse in

Nigeria in a uniquely structured transaction, considered a first in many ways.

In our legal advisory role in Real Estate and Construction, we have had to negotiate the acquisition of undeveloped and developed land with occupiers/owners, and advised on how much, and to whom compensation is due. In an operating environment such as

Nigeria where inflation is constant, we have also ensured that construction projects are not frustrated, by advising on undertakings, guarantees, and such other instruments/devices needed to be in place to prevent delay/abandonment in construction works, and that projects are constructed according to specifications.”

As much as he appreciated what late Rotimi Williams, revered lawyer, once said, that he never knew anyone who combined business so effectively with the law profession at a very high level like Babalakin, he does not see himself as a roaring success yet. “I am underachieved in my chosen area. Let me put more efforts, maybe, one day, I will become successful. What I mean by underachieved, as far as I am concerned, is in comparison with opportunity. If a man has 20 opportunities and is able to actualise four, he has not achieved”.

The 47-year-old legal aristocrat and business mogul believes that “most of us want to be successful and what we need to put into acquiring the skill of being successful is training. You must train yourself. It requires education, physical strength and doggedness.”

Wale Babalakin’s creed as it pertains to real estate can perhaps be found in one of his paper titled KEY CONSTRAINTS TO REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA posted on his website, “There is hardly any business venture that does not require to be supported by some form of real estate: from the small business that requires real estate as offices from where its business can be organized, to the major venture that needs it for its factory.

It therefore simply stands to reason that to be true to his professional responsibility every commercial/business lawyer ought to have a proper grasp of real estate law.

Babalakin & Co. happens to be exclusive solicitors to what is perhaps the most successful private estate in

Nigeria, the Victoria Garden City. There are some projects going on in Port Harcourt as well as in

Abuja. However, Babalakin has this to say “………there is still so much to be done. Our real estate development is limited largely to residential and to some extent hotel, office and shopping complexes.”

i SAID YOU WILL LOVE IT, DID YOU?

This is why you shouldn’t be missing prime assets magazine.

the 14th issue will be out by the end of january, ask your vendor or better still call 234-(0)1-8964527 to subscribe.

regards!

                                                                    

To a lot of Lagosians, the quiet hum of the mega-city project remains distant, primarily because it is to many, just another project that does not mean anything, maybe for reasons that do not go beyond lack of understanding and comprehension.

Findings have however revealed that a simple definition of the project is the re-development of Lagos to fit into the new title, which the state has found herself by virtue of population.

 

A mega city according to the definition of human settlements is a city with a minimum population of 10 million and above. In this league of cities are New York City (16million), Sao Paulo (17million), Mumbai (18million), London (12million.), Tokyo (26million), Los Angeles (13million), Beijing (12million) Cairo (10million) and Shanghai (12million). Apart from their sheer population, most of the world’s mega cities (with a few exceptions) are highly industrialized, technologically advanced, hub of international trade, well-developed transportation network (air, land and water), globally connected telecommunications, skillful labour force and well-planned urban landscape with complementary / functional urban services i.e. electricity, water, sanitation etc.

 

With a population of over 10million, Lagos by proposed legislation or otherwise has definitely attained the glorious height of a mega-city; howbeit with the attendant issues and problems of living up to that titanic position. However, the Lagos Mega-City Region covers an area of 153,540 hectares which is more or less the entirety of Lagos with a continuously expanding built-up area that gulps parts of Ogun State comprising at least, four local government areas of Ado-Odo/Ota, Ifo, Obafemi Owode and Sagamu. “These areas spread through an estimated area of 22, 840 hectares, comprising 15, 640 hectares for non-urban uses, such as, agriculture, conservation/preservation, forest and water supply reserves, recreation, tourism and regional parks, while urban uses in Ogun

State accounted for only 7, 200 hectares.” According to information from the Ikoyi office of the Mega-City Project; headed by Professor Akin Mabogunje, a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning. A report of the Professor Akin Mabogunje-led Presidential Committee on the redevelopment of the Lagos Mega-City Region, made available for sighting at the Ikoyi office of the project, revealed that the Lagos Mega-City is a region in crisis- infrastructural facilities; services and utilities are severely stressed. “Its residents are neither safe nor satisfied and the environment is highly polluted and decaying.” Quotes the report.

It is perhaps for these reasons and more that former President Olusegun Obasanjo formally inaugurated the Lagos Mega City Region Development Authority with the words “the problems of Lagos, which also flowed into Ogun State, are beyond the scope of the two neighbouring states, stressing that Lagos being a former federal capital, the Federal Government had to intervene.” This was also acknowledged by serving President Umar Musa Yar ‘Adua on 22^nd of  July, 2007 during an official visit to Lagos where he also met with the Governors of Lagos and Ogun states, when he said that the “federal government can no longer ignore the population growth in Lagos, as there is the urgent need to begin the development plan for a mega city”, an Olympian height Lagos has attained (growth wise) in the hierarchy of cities in Nigeria, nay the world.

Hence, Mr. President came purposely to confer with Governors Fashola and Daniel of Lagos and Ogun states respectively, on the modality for drafting legislation on the mega city status of Lagos to the National Assembly to pass into law.

Some of the other reasons for the translation of Lagos into a mega-city according to the Prof. Mabogunje’s committee report states that

·          The Mega-City Project came about as a result of the chaotic nature of urban development in

             Lagos

State, which has impacted negatively on

Ogun

State. This singular factor has become a source of concern for international investors and       first-time visitors. Recent statistics by the National Planning Commission, NPC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revealed that
            no less than 60 per cent of total economic activities in the country take place in

Lagos 

State.

·          The Lagos Mega-City as already defined came about as a direct impact of the inadequacy of decent residential accommodation within the Lagos metropolis, and its attendant encroachment on OgunState lands.

·          The population pressure in the Mega-City Region has been heightened over the years by inadequate housing provision for the continuous streams of immigrants. The report pointed out that although the Mega-City occupies only 37 per cent of the land area of

             Lagos

State, it accommodates nearly 90 per cent of the total population of the state. The average population density within the region is          about 20, 000 persons per square kilometre, compared to the national average of only 1, 308 persons per square kilometre.

·          The inadequacy of decent residential accommodation has resulted in the Lagos State section of the Mega-City Region to record 42 slum areas as at 1985. Latest count has put the number a little over 100. The effect of these ever emerging slum areas is disheartening as the corridors of land along the Lagos-Ogun

State borders have been experiencing enormous pressure as the

Lagos metropolis spills over to them. Neighbourhood areas such as Ota, Ibafo, Mowe, Ojodu, Akute and Ogifo are already under heavy and intense pressure of physical growth with very few indicators of real infrastructural development- the roads are in the most unmotorable states with little or no drainage facilities available.

 

Having identified these reasons for moving Lagos alongside Ogun State into the realm of mega city, key areas in the report which is guiding the Mega-City project office have been identified with differing solutions and plans proffered to be implemented.

These areas of interest include Power generation, Fire prevention, security, geographical restructuring to leave ample parks, and open gardens available as recreational facilities. Others are good water provision, pollution prevention and flooding problems which the report has very strongly attributed to the blockage of drainages.

Professor Mabogunje at a recent sensitization program organized for members of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on the on-going Lagos Mega City Project by the officials of the Lagos Mega City Development Authority said while responding to questions bordering on the preparedness of the state and Federal government for the mega-city project; that “various developmental projects had started and that all the markets in Lagos were going to be re-designed in conjuction with banks.”

He also revealed that works had commenced on the expansion of the Lekki-Ajah expressway and that the construction of the coastal road would soon commence.

 According to Yacoob Abiodun an Urban Planner attached to the project office from Abuja at the Federal Government Support level; “the main priority and focus of the Lagos Mega City project now is a ‘quick-fix’ for the

Lagos traffic and the modes of public transportation befitting of a mega city. The on-going Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is one solution out of many possible solutions to address the stress which commuters and motorists go through daily within

Lagos metropolitan area.”

In line with other mega-cities all over the world, Lagos needs a mass transit mode with a capacity to transport large number of commuters in and around the mega city region. The metro mode should according the project run from various points in a bid to alleviate commuters transport problems.

When it started out, the now popular BRT buses plied only Berger to Race-course, but now other routes have been added even including the Ikorodu road axis which should be commencing soon, now that the ground work is almost done.

The Ogun State government axis using the Gateway City Development Company is also monitoring developments and construction activities along the Mowe-Ofada axis in its bid to ensure well planned housing formats and structures.

According to an official of Gateway City Development Co. Ltd, who spoke with this writer under anonymity, “the company was floated in 2004 to monitor and guide development on the axis as it is the opening to other parts of the country from Lagso State, hence the Mega-city project taking place in Lagos and Ogun.”

Working with international and local private estate developers, corporate bodies and cooperatives, the Ogun state government is coordinating the gradual transformation of turning its over 20, 000 hectares of land along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway into a mega city- a sure extension of the Lagos end of the project.

Today, according to a THISDAY Newspaper report, “the entire territory is home to various estates and factories with ownership ranging from individuals to corporate entities.”

Implementing three strategic development options, the helmsman of Gateway City Dev. Co, Surveyor Kola Omobo has stated that either by direct government investments and acquisition of properties, private sector capital infusion and/or Public Private Partnership, the axis is being monitored to be built or developed according to the Mega-City posture.

He disclosed that the enormous cost of developing the area informed the decision to partner private investors.“Our plan is to take advantage of the axis contiguity and heavy congestion in Lagos by turning it into a place that would showcase Ogun State.

“The Gateway City axis is an alternative to the Lekki Development Corridor in Victoria Island which is why we are overwhelmed by the rush for land in the Gateway area. That is an area where anybody coming in or going out of

Lagos must pass through,” Omobo said.

He added that some of the modern housing estates currently being developed include Havila villa Estate, a joint venture between the Ogun State Government and Grand Properties; OGD Sparklight Estate, joint venture between GCDC and Sparklight Company Limited; Lonex Gardens, Heritage Gardens, Wemabod Estate and Sky-view Estate.In the joint ventures, GCDC provides the land as government contribution, while the private developers provide funding for the estates. He said the agency has also allocated land to The Sun Newspapers Co-operative and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (Financial Standard Chapel) that are working to build their housing estates within the GCDC corridor.By the time all these housing estates are fully developed, Omobo said “the area would have turned into a mega city, assuring that the stakeholders would stick to the master plan for the area.”

Give or take, most peoples’ fingers are still crossed; even as a lot of the officials of these projects in Lagos and Ogun States respectively are waiting for some major activity to further enlighten them on the way things are going. But whichever way, the project is here to stay, and critics are watching to see the successful implementation of some of the things and suggestions that the Prof. Mabogunje report has proffered.     

Snippets

·          Members of the Mega-City Authority project include representatives of the Federal Ministries of Housing & Urban Development, Works, Environment, Transport and Finance; relevant ministries of Lagos and Ogun States and Local Governments; Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and one banker each from the two states.

Isn’t it about time a wise investor take position along that axis?

Do you now see why you should buy into some of the Mowe/Ofada axis landed property offers in Prime Assets magazine?  Go to www.primeestatesng.com now to key in immediately.