United We Fall

The word “trick” may be an inappropriate term to use to educate you on this subject.  However, I am more than certain that even though clients never explicitly use that word when trying to apply for a loan, that is what they eventually try to do in order to persuade us Bankers into risking depositors funds. A trick or not a trick. It all depends on the rule of the game and here are five simple things you need to need to be thinking of when applying for a loan! Before we get into the five things that you need to be thinking of, lets get started with a few C’s Banks consider strongly before indicating an interest (NOT approve) to give you a loan. Call it the Banker’s lending creed or the bible. If you check all the boxes convincingly, then you have a 50% chance of tricking your Bank into giving you a loan. Character— What is your history of repaying your loan. Essentially what is your credit report saying? Capacity— Simply put, this is your total debt to-income ratio. The hig...

Have you ever bought a phone and found out it was locked to a carrier? Before you sue the seller, take a few steps to see what you can do. AT&T  — For most devices, there is an unlock request form you can fill out online using the IMEI number for the device. After you submit the form, AT&T will send you a confirmation email with a link. Click the link, and AT&T will send unlocking instructions within two business days. Note that prepaid devices must be active for six months before they can be unlocked. Start the unlocking procedure at  https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/ Sprint  — Devices with domestic SIM cards launched after 2015 automatically unlock when they become eligible. To get an inactive device unlocked, call Sprint customer care at 888-211-4727 or request an unlock  through Sprint’s online chat . See the full unlocking requirements  here . Keep in mind that Sprint-branded phones use a relatively obscure networking technology and won’t w...

AFRICA NEEDS TO RE-THINK ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA My sibling lived and worked in China with her husband for almost 8 years. She worked, she paid her taxes, she complied with the law but never found stability. When she finally returned in 2014, I went from being thrilled to being shocked over all the things she wasn’t. No permanent residency, No MBA degree and bitter still, could not speak a word in Mandarin beyond hello. Her response when I asked why was straightforward:  “China doesn’t really see my existence, so I didn’t feel the need to be seen there anymore” This story resonates with many Africans in China. They live in China, contribute economically to China, yet they are never really seen in China As far back as 2012, as many as 100,000 Sub-Saharan Africans had flocked to Guangzhou, according to Professor Adams Bodomo's book "Africans in China" all chasing the same dream of getting rich in China. Over the past years thousands are believed to have exited Gua...

The Politics of Fear “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears” – nelson mandela Fear is one of the most complex emotions most humans feel. From an abusive relationship, to uncertainty at a workplace, the fear of what is known or unknown remains to be understood as most other emotions which most often can be diagnosed, managed or even treated. When we feel fear it mostly an emotional reaction to something. In cases where these triggers are known, we feel fear because we feel powerless to control or confront it. Reactions to fear like most other emotion is to fight to freeze or to fight. The fear we feel as a result of social behavior are more domestic in nature. When it expands into politics, the concept of fear hits home. That is so because then we feel our financial wellbeing, our ability to love, our culture, our religion etcetera threatened. In a political climate, fear can easily metamorphose into a commodity that is much more complicated. Because, anger us...

Dear Evangelicals, Jesus Christ  is everything Trump wouldn't  have anything to do with!   A couple days ago, a friend of mine posted to his social media, a photo of the text message he received from the Trump Campaign. The message was short and concise and for me three words stood out. LIBERALS, TEAR DOWN and JESUS. What was portrayed by the campaign message was a raging movement which was expanding at an alarming rate in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As the protests have persisted, so have the demands grown and shifted. From defunding the police to tearing down statues of historical figures in America. Now, the conversation has moved on to Jesus Christ because protesters are enraged at his racial depiction as being white. Underneath all of these, it seems there would be no stopping what the next target could be or what should be “off-limits” to protests. Personally, I do not see a problem with the Trump Campaign’s messaging about a need to defend. To tear down or no...