He should win over those of them who are friendly with conciliation and gifts, those hostile through dissensions and force.
Kautilya
If there is equal advancement in peace or war, he should resort to peace
Kautilya
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
Thomas Carlyle
The enemies should not come to know of his secrets; he should, however, find out the weakness of the enemy. He should conceal, as a tortoise does his limbs, any limb of his own that may have become exposed.
Kautilya
The young man beginning the battle of life should never lose sight of the fact that the age of fierce competition is upon us, and that this competition must, in the nature of things, become more and more intense. Success grows less and less dependent on luck and chance. Preparation for the chosen field of effort, an industry that increasing, a hope that never flags, a patience that never grows weary, a courage that never wavers, all these, and a trust in God, are the prime requisites of the man who would win in this age of specialists and untiring activity.
Major A.R Calhoon
Before you start some work, always ask yourself 3 questions : why I am doing it, what might be the results, and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply, and find satisfactory answers to these questions go ahead.
Knowledge and information, technology, people and inspiration are the weapons that leaders of an organization should have before they step into a battle.
Kautilya
Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things”
Miyamoto Musashi,
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Sun Tzu
Be vigilant about your competitors’ efforts and progress.
Kautilya
Startups also have a true north, a destination in mind: creating a thriving and world-changing business. I call that a startup’s vision. To achieve that vision, startups employ a strategy, which includes a business model, a product road map, a point of view about partners and competitors, and ideas about who the customer will be. The product is the end result of this strategy
Eric Ries
So how do you beat laziness? The answer is a little greed. It’s that radio station WII-FM, which stands for “What’s In It-For Me?”
Chinyere came into Lagos in 2008 with dreams of getting a good job with a juicy pay package. She started out staying with a friend in Akoka, until she was able to rent a miniflat in Bariga in 2010. After taking several low paying jobs, Chinyere got a marketing position with a new generation bank in Lagos Island and began preparing to enjoy life as a banker. She sub-leased a room in a 2-bedroom apartment located at Ikoyi from her co-worker Adenike. it was agreed that in consideration of the use of the room and common areas in the apartment, Chinyere would pay Adenike an annual rent of N500,000 to the existing tenant, being 50% of the N1 million charged on the property
Things went relatively well until Chinyere had a minor disagreement around 18 months after Chinyere moved in. After the disagreement, Adenike became hostile and and disagreeable towards Chinyere with the object of making her uncomfortable in the house. At the end of the tenancy, Adenike informed Chinyere that she would not be renewing the tenancy and as a result, Chinyere would be required to quit the room she was occupying with immediate effect.
Chinyere was shocked beyond belief! This possibly could not be legal. From her little knowledge of the law, an annual tenant was entitled to 6 months quit notice. She confronted Adenike with this information, and Adenike bluntly informed her that she was not tenant but a mere occupier who could be summarily required to quit the premises, asking her to present any proof of rent payment or a tenancy agreement between the parties. At this point Chinyere was flummoxed! it appeared she had been hoodwinked by her friend; she sought out legal advice to understand whether she had any rights against Adenike, or if her rights were extinguished by the lack of a rent receipt.
Chinyere’s case is special, because amongst other provisions, Section 1 of the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011 provides that the Law would not apply in the Ikoyi Area- However, this does not preclude her rights as a tenant.
It has been severally stated by the different courts that a tenancy relationship is deemed to exist where exclusive possession of a premises or a portion of a premises are granted by the landlord/sub-lessor to a Tenant/Sub-Lessee, for valuable consideration-no matter how small such consideration may be. This implies that the rent must have been paid in cash for this provision of law to apply.
Furthermore whilst Section 5 of the Lagos state Tenancy Law expressly criminalizes the non- issuance of a tenancy receipt, the law stipulates that once the tenant can prove that a rent has been paid, a tenancy will be deemed to have commenced in favor of the tenant and the Landlord cannot claim that a tenancy does not exist, even though a written tenancy agreement may not exist in the circumstances. Thus it is advisable for the tenant to always have proof of payment of the rent, either in form of a teller, an acknowledged photocopy of the cheque used in the payment of the rent, or any other proof of payment.
Consequently, having received monetary consideration, Adenike is precluded from evicting Chinyere without following the due process of issuing the statutory 6-month and 7-day notices. In this situation, Chinyere may take the matter to the Citizens Mediation Centre to facilitate the amicable resolution of the matter, or she may proceed to the courts to enforce her legal rights.
James is a sound engineer, working with a prominent oil and gas servicing company in Lagos. He lives in a rented 2- bedroom apartment in the Lekki environs with his wife and younger brother. By all accounts he is an upwardly mobile young man with lots of prospects.
Disaster struck in December 2016, James lost his job due to rationalizations at his company, arising from the national recession. Having been sacked, James found it difficult to pay his bills, including his house rent on time as he was used to doing. After making several demands for the rent for close to 6 months , the landlord came with some thugs and forcibly evicted James and his family from the flat, throwing his property into the street and locking the door. James came to his lawyers for advice on how to deal with the actions of his landlord.
The law is clear on the rights of a landlord and a tenant, especially with respect to the termination of the tenancy and the recovery of possession of the premises by the landlord. In the absence of any clause in the tenancy agreement stating otherwise, the landlord is expected to give the tenant adequate notice to quit and deliver up the premises. This general rule is that a yearly tenant should receive at least 6 months notice, a quarterly and semi-annual tenant is entitled to 3 months notice, while a monthly tenant is entitled to 1 month notice. Failure to issue and serve the proper notice to the tenant renders the notice invalid. The notice should be given before the termination of the existing tenancy, as an additional day’s delay creates a fresh tenancy.
If the tenant still refuses to vacate the premises after the expiration of the quit notice, the next step to take is to serve the tenant with a 7 day Notice of owners intention to apply to recover possession. After this expires, the landlord may then sue the tenant and after the magistrate has heard the matter, the court may make an order evicting the tenant if it is proven that he has breached any of the covenants or is in arrears of rent.
The effect of the forcible and unlawful eviction of James is as follows:
The landlord committed a crime by forcibly evicting James
The landlord is in breach of the tenant’s right to quiet possession and enjoyment of the premises.
The landlord may be liable for assault if himself or any of the thugs assaults James in the process of forcibly removing him from the premises.
These breaches may render the landlord civilly and criminally liable. Consequently, it is essential to follow due process in the termination of tenancies.
