Buy now, pay later! Nothing down, 24 monthly payments! Low, low 9.9 percent APR! We are constantly urged to accept credit card offers or purchase items on credit. But what is credit? The word “credit” refers to the right to pay for something in the future. For instance, if you purchase furniture today but are allowed to pay for it over the next few years the merchant has given you "credit." Having the ability to borrow money or purchase something on credit enables us to obtain things we would otherwise have to save for years to afford; like homes, cars, and a college education.
The word “credit” also refers to the belief or confidence in a person's ability and intention to fulfill a financial obligation. Credit is your reputation as a borrower. It tells others how likely you are to repay your loans. When you have good credit, companies will have a high level of confidence in you. As a result, banks will be willing to give you a loan and retailers will be willing to let you purchase something now but pay for it later. Many lenders offer better terms and lower interest rates to consumers that have good credit ratings. When you have bad credit, you will likely pay more for the credit or you may not be able to get credit at all.
In many respects, Nigeria represents a paradox in development. Take for instance, Nigeria is the seventh world largest exporter of oil, yet ranks 158 out of the 188 countries of the would in terms of quality of life (UNDP, 2007). Available statistics indicate that poverty has become endemic in Nigeria and is on the increase. For instance, poverty increased from 18 million people in 1980, to 35 million people in 1985; 39 million people in 1992; 67 people in 1996; and 74 million people in 1999. At present, about two-third of the Nigeria’s population (about 150 million) are poor. The latest Human Development Programme indicates that 70.8 per cent and 92.4 per cent of Nigerian population live below US$1 (N117) and US$2 (N234) a day respectively (UNDP, 2007). All these support the ranking of Nigeria among the world’s least developed nations of the world (UNDP, 2007).
Out of these numbers of poor Nigerian, women represent greater proportion due largely to their ascribed and acquired role, which is accentuated by sociocultural orthodoxy with a concomitant vulnerability to deprivation, intimidation, and extreme suffering. Consequent upon this, majority of these women are forced into the informal economy, which exacerbate poverty and vulnerability. Given the multidimensional role of women in the Nigerian culture, and by implication in the development process though not often acknowledged, the continued neglect of the women in Nigeria means postponing economic recovery in the country.
Regional Science and the new economic geography has become fascinated and indeed captured by the notion that some regions are more economically innovative than others. Much of this emphasis stems from the ideas growing out of the early work of regionalist on Silicon Valley and Route 128 in Boston (Saxenian, 1990). Work by Maleiki and Franz (1995) and others developed similar notions that some regions contained a new form of competitive advantage over other places with only locational advantages. In essence, location, location, location might no longer be the central tenet of regional science.
