WHY IGBO MAN CAN’T BE ALLOWED TO RULE NIGERIA! – TUNDE EDNUT

WHY IGBO MAN CAN’T BE ALLOWED TO RULE NIGERIA! – TUNDE EDNUT

Though with a funny musical career or do we say faltering musically with no album this last few years, no single, no “banger”, no LP Tunde Ednut made a name when the Nigerian pop culture was in her nascent period when competition wasn’t there much ! He has been in the news lately for his love for Igbo staying in Nigeria and his phobia for Igbo being a president because of Biafra! Whichever way you look at it, Tunde is in news and possibly using Biafra to trend once again!

All for the gram, Tunde, just like tundra took to the Instagram and made his position clear to those that follow him and said ““An Igbo man should not be allowed to be president of Nigeria. I have a feeling that BIAFRA will be established if that happens. They will leave us Oo and Nigeria will crumble if they leave Oo. Igbos have been planning BIAFRA since. They have their plan together. Let’s not give Igbos the opportunity to leave now. We are in this Nigeria together, you will not run anywhere. we die here.”

Now we have a different school of thought here,some folks are saying that Tunde has demonstrated his hate for Igbo and that he has made it clear that no Igbo will ever be president if he has the opportunity, while others have seen this statement as a patriotic statement which is in tune with the “indivisibility” of Nigeria and the need to keep the Igbo ethnic group in the country having seen the tremendous glory and strides they have brought to the nation.

Though,the Igbo enthic group has been fighting for their independence and a state of their own called Biafra, citing injustice, inability to express themselves economically, politically and above all marginalisation. An accusation that the Nigerian Governemnt has clearly denied after the first civil war which saw millions of people especially the Igbo and the erstwhile Biafrans die.

The country has made tremendous effort to reintegrate the Igbo back to the nationhood and make them feel and have a sense of belonging, but the big question is; are the Igbo feeling this sense of belonging?

Well, Tunde has come out to clarify his position now that it is Igbo turn to produce the president of the country for the first time ever, Tunde is advising and saying that it is pointless or suicidal to allow an Igbo man ever be a president in his own country and possibly, he doesn’t and wouldn’t allow them to have their own country to govern themselves!

Tunde has a feeling that if that happens, Biafra will be established, the Igbos will leave and Nigeria will crumble.He said an Igbo man should not be allowed to be president of Nigeria for now. Doing so will allow them establish Biafra which many Nigerians are uncomfortable with and it is understandable,no nation would sit back and let the critical people .

Igbo people in their traditional wears

Though, some Igbo folks like Kanu ain’t taking that either, they have been demanding for referendum to exit , but (un)fortunately,the Nigerian constitution doesn’t recognize plebiscite or referendum and Kanu with his group proscribed. A quagmire the country might find herself in! How they would navigate this waters is what Tunde Ednut seems to offer via the Instagram!

Igbo people are one of the major ethnic group of the country, numbering over 40 million,very urbanised and Western. Having produced one of the finest brains in the country ranging from literature ,Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Adichie , Buchi Emecheta to Economic gurus such as Pat Utomi, Charles Soludo, Paschal Dozie, Jim Ovia, Ngozi Iweala and Paul Ogwuma! Having notables in sports such as Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Mikel Obi etc. Igbo people have been appointed globally as world class citizens offering top notch services in the world organization such as the international court of justice (ICJ) Louis Mbanefo, though no Igbo man had ever been the Chief of justice in Nigeria ! Ngozi Iweala in the global financial space and others but with all these strides including an appointment of Igbo man.

Obinna Ukwuani just few days ago to pilot Rwanda’s agro revolution and fintech space, majority of Nigerians feel that it would be unwise to let the Igbo be president and show case what they have done globally and locally in their region. A lot of Igbo are Mayors in Western world ,many are members of parliament and handling policy making offices in the developed world but in their own country many of their compatriots seems to have this phobia of them and wouldn’t want them to be at the decision making process, a coinage they (Igbo ) call “Igbophobia” which Chinua Achebe explained in his last work “There was a Country. ” But,the Igbo has consistently demonstrated that they are more Nigerian than the rest by building structures, investing heavily in non Igbo areas.

It is believed that the Igbo region has the highest start up ecosystem in the continent with their bespoke business settlement scheme which they call “igba boy” which has produced many millionaires like the car manufacturing man, Innocent Chukwuma and the only Rolls Royce and BMW franchise dealer in Nigeria , Cosmos Maduka known as Coscharis. As it stands now, folks like Ednuts are saying “Hell No” we can’t allow them to govern, we ain’t gonna have it and they ain’t going no where either …we all gonna die here. But as it is said before, it is all for the gram!

Anthony Emeka Nwosu

“Though, some Igbo folks like Kanu ain’t taking that either, they have been demanding for referendum to exit , but (un)fortunately,the Nigerian constitution doesn’t recognize plebiscite or referendum and Kanu with his group proscribed. A quagmire the country might find herself in…”

Nigerian Driving Styles,are we rascally ?

Nigerian Driving Styles,are we rascally ?

Having driven in most countries of the world,I can state that driving in Nigeria , especially the city of Lagos can be described as nightmarish! It can make Schumacher the F1 driver petrified! I was driving down the road one evening. I came to an intersection. I saw this vehicle who also upon seeing me stopped too. They stopped because they were coming out from an avenue to enter the major road in which I was on.. I slowed down but continued believing they did the right thing by giving me right of way. Then out of nowhere this vehicle sauntered into my front. Note the word sauntered!

All effort to avoid hitting them was futile. I quickly brought my car to neutral and applied emergency breaks but still couldn’t avoid the accident. They managed to drive across to the other side of the road and parked with much difficulties. I pulled my vehicle off the road to the right side of the road I was in. This was a two-way road with two lanes on both sides. They were entering from my right side to cross over to the lane on the left.

I don’t want to even talk about the traffic rules and code in Nigeria and other countries and the discipline in obeying them. I have driven for the past 35 years and never had an accident. I have driven in Geneva, South Africa, Zimbabwe and New York, Malawi and Ghana and Dubai. Never have I had a traffic ticket let alone an accident. When I see the kinds of accidents people have in Abuja I wonder if it is madness.

I drove the cars of the organizations I worked for and never scratched the. GTZ, World Bnkand the UN etc. I those organizations you repay the amageyou do to their cars.

A yellow fever man stopped me one day in Abuja claiming that I ran a red light. I felt terribly offended because that is like telling me that I am nine months pregnant and forcing me to believe it. I know the risk of running a red light. That’s suicide. I don’t want to die or kill another person so why run a red light. I told him so.

Back to the point of this story. As I came down from my car I realised there were three occupants in the other car – two ladies and a gentleman with fashionable white beards. They just stood by their car while I walked up to them. I noticed from the body language of the ladies that they knew they were wrong. But the white beard short and petite guy was puffing his chest with hands akimbo. He was preparing for a fight – verbal or physical- I don’t know. When I see a white bearded guy, I assume brains, wisdom and panache. Patrick O. Okigbo III and Ademola H Adigun sold this impression to me. Unfortunately this guy had none. Not even decorum. Not even class.

Anyway I politely greeted them good evening to which the ladies responded. When I asked if anyone was hurt, I could see how the ladies were impressed!! They responded that nobody was hurt. If it was in my other world, I would have charmed those ladies. They felt impressed by my priority.

Since this guy never said a word, I calmly waived them bye bye and walked back to face my damaged car. I faked ease and joy. I also thanked Godthat it wasn’t deadly.

Honestly I find it absurd when I see people especially Nigerians get into terrible verbal exchanges over a vehicle accident that didn’t result in any injury to their persons. You will see them hold up entire traffic screaming over their scratched or damaged car. I can’t imagine my friends seeing me in that public altercation. It is simply a car!!

Many years ago when I got my first car, I drove it to the village to meet my grandmother. Her friends were rejoicing and I was also bragging about my car that I even forgot the lunch my grandmother prepared for me. When I came back having driven around with friends, she confronted me and said ” it is because of this pieces of aluminium pans on a rubber that you ignored my meal?”. My car described that way? It was the sharpest put down I got and deflation of ego. Since then I realised what a car is. My grandmother would always say ” forget the name of the car so long as it takes you from point-a to point-b”.

Now my observation regarding the accident was that this lady driving the jeep was learning. The other lady was at the back. The gentleman was sitting by the passenger’s seat. I made this observation as they alighted from their jeep.

It became clear to me from the way the vehicle sauntered into my path, the lady was learning and the guy was teaching her. They clearly decided to use the opportunity of light traffic at night to learn to drive. I overheard the lady state that she didn’t know how the jeep moved onto the road. Anyone who has tried teaching people how to drive can understand the predicament of this lady.

Apart from this observation I think it is wrong and unwise to teach a wife or girlfriend or anyone how to drive. I refused teaching my girlfriend or wife howto drive. Never. I rather pay you go learn from the driving school. Love and teaching don’t go well. Send her to a driving school to learn. Secondly it is also unlawful to put anyone behind the wheels who has no driver’s license learners permit with a red ” L” signage indicating that the person is learning.

Thirdly there are basic rules or traffic codes. In some countries they drive on the right side with the steering wheel on the left. While in some others they keep to the left side with the steering on the right side.

There are reasons. In Zimbabwe or South Africa where they keep to the left with steering on the right, you give way to any traffic coming from your right. It is so because from your sitting position you can see oncoming vehicle with much easy. Even as you approach a roundabout you give way to traffic coming from your right. There is what is known as a blind spot in your car. Hence in different jurisdiction you overtake from the right or left based on their rules but it must be from the side the other drive can easily see you.

In Nigeria people overtake from every side. They don’t give right of way to anybody. Approaching a roundabout you give way to the traffic coming from your left and the same when you approach an intersection.

In Pretoria and Harare they have traffic lights on all major roads. However there are also other roads or avenues they don’t put traffic light. In those roads you see ” Stop Signs” on the post and boldly inscribed on the tarmac at those intersections. We have these in Abuja but mos motorist see it as decorations.

When vehicles arrive on a four road intersection. Each stops. The one from the left goes followed by another from the other side and turn by turn and on a rotational basis each car crosses over from each side. The vehicles arriving later queue behind and follow accordingly when it is their turn. They don’t need a traffic police or yellow fever to do this. In Nigeriawe all put our heads together like hundred rams in a lock horn fight.

It is simply acquired learning and applied discipline.

Sadly Nigerians don’t have these!! Let anyone challenge me on this.

Meanwhile let me go repair my car. Thinking of the budget while taking my morning green tea. Life is better than a ” pieces of pan on a rubber”

Charles C Achodo

HISTORY 101:NDIGBO AND ISIAGU SYMBOL

HISTORY 101:NDIGBO AND ISIAGU SYMBOL

In this essay, I use “akwa isiagụ” as metaphor to illustrate that Ndigbo have not done exactly well to preserve their language and culture. I posit they have abandoned their unique cultural symbol. That they are now parading a symbol of foreign popular culture as their foremost emblem. But I also present perspectives that might ignite a quest for self-rediscovery.

Akwa Isiagụ

Akwa isiagụ is the clothing fabric patterned with motifs showing fierce-looking lion’s head and mane. Some designs show a less stern lion’s head, with two or three cow horns besides it.

Since the last 50 to 60 years Igbos have managed to portray this fabric design as their classic cultural emblem. In fact, as something of a totem. Igbo chiefs and nze and ọzọ titleholders use it to make their ceremonial gears. At native marriage ceremonies and similar cultural events, isiagụ garments of different colours and styles grace the day. Igbo people feel a certain sense of pride when they dress in isiagụ attire. Even non-Igbos regard isiagụ as being to Igbos what the tartan is to Scots. Or the yarmulke is to Jews. Such is the impression, that when they are identifying with or participating at an Igbo traditional practice (eg taking an Igbo chieftaincy), they dress in isiagụ gear. Recent examples include President Buhari, Fayose, Zuma.

But this is an imported foreign popular culture. Neither the lion nor the lion icon has any significance in Igbo cultural foundations. Indeed, using the descriptor ‘isiagụ’ to refer to a lion’s head motif is wrong use of the word “agụ”.

Incorrect Language

Agụ is not lion in Igbo. Agụ is leopard. Folks have written about this before, and I’ve discussed in other forums on the subject. It is pitiful that it remains a source of confusion to many adult Igbos. There is just little understanding of Igbo origins and names of the feline (cat species) animals. You hear all manner of names that contradict biogeography. Like, “agụ is lion, and ọdụm is tiger”. Or, “agụ is lion, and leopard is edi abalị”.

But let’s clear this

Just as jaguars and cougars are found only in the Americas, tigers inhabit only in Eurasia. They do not belong to the fauna (native animals) of sub-Saharan Africa. Ancient Igbos did not see nor know about tiger, so did not have an indigenous name for it.

Edi or edi abalị is the African civet. One of the 38 viverridae species, it is slightly smaller than the leopard. A carnivore, no doubt, but it is timider, less agile and far less specialised in opportunistic hunting. It has a broadly cat-like general appearance, but its muzzle is more pointed than that of a typical feline. Leopard has distinctive camouflage spots that help it to use forest canopies for cover, enhancing its abilities for surprise hunting, But the African civet typically has black and white spots.

A nocturnal creature that sleeps for about 20 hours a day, the ancient Igbos knew the edi abalị very well. Which is why Igbos still use “edi” as metaphor to refer to a person who sleeps a lot. The leopard is bold, agile, versatile, and highly admired in Igbo cultural foundations. But edi is loathed and associated with negativity, because it smells and relies more on con and coy to lure its preys. That’s also why in Igbo language “edi aghụghọ” is a metaphor that references a deceptive person.

Knowledge of the Igbo language structure will indicate agụ is not lion. Many Igbo words were created from metaphorical use of existing words. To form names for creatures or objects, Igbos often devised a two-word metaphor comparing what is sought to be named to an another named object or creature. For example, ụlọ is house, and school is “ụlọ-akwụkwọ” (house for books), while hospital is “ụlọ ọgwụ” (house for medication).

Leopard – agụ – preys on mammals and has spots on its furs. That is why the wall gecko, that preys on insects and has spots, is called agụ ụlọ (ie house leopard). And the crocodile, that preys on water creatures and has patches that resemble the leopard’s spots, is called agụ iyi (leopard of the waters). Similarly, the palm genet, a small mammal that resembles the squirrel but unlike the squirrel has spots on its furs, is called “agụ nkwụ”. In contrast.] the lion has no spots on its furs. The lion’s fur is generally plane brown.

The leopard is Igbo animal totem

Being about 3 times the size of a leopard, the lion is stronger and sometimes even preys on the leopard. The Igbo say “ọdụm na-egbu agụ”. Despite this, the lion has no special recognition in Igbo cultural systems. Ancient Igbos likely did not even have any or much contact with lion as a species. For whereas leopards inhabit in rainforests (although they are very adaptable and thrive in other vegetations), lions inhabit mainly in savannah or grasslands. Savannah vegetation do not exist (and likely never existed) in Igboland. Igboid areas sit generally on lowland rainforest.

A lion can occasionally stray into a rainforest or can refuge there if persecuted in its usual habitat. It must have been in such circumstances that Igbos came to know about the lion. Yet that was not enough to diminish their fascination for the leopard, a beast with which they had contended for thousands and thousands of years.

It should be noted that whilst leopards operate solitarily, lions are the most social of the cat species. Lions operate in close-knit social groups called “pride”. Ethologists (scholars of animal behaviours) have observed that this sociality makes the lion a better communicator than other big cats. But it means lions roar frequently and easily broadcast their presence and emotions. Conversely, a leopard’s solitary lifestyle makes it less detectable, and more perceptive and reactive to intrusion. For this reason, its senses of vision and hearing are sharper than those of a lion. Ancient Igbos witnessed this first-hand. They saw how a leopard, hiding stealthily amongst forest canopies, would detect the slightest animal or human movement, and chase and pounced savagely.

In forest environment, a lion has little chance to fight down the more agile leopard. A lion’s size and weight render it less agile to climb high. But a leopard can climb to the top an iroko tree in less than 10 seconds. Leopard is probably the only big mammal that can descend a tree head first. It uses its long tail to maintain perfect aerodynamic balance.

With top average speed of about 80 km per hour, lion is faster than leopard. But it can only run for very short bursts and needs to be close to its prey before starting an attack. But the leopard can run for far longer stretches, at average top speed of about 58 km per hour. A leopard can make a single leap of over 6m (20 ft) horizontally and can jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically. And it is a powerful swimmer. Although its vision is sharpest in the dark, it can equally be eagle-eyed in the day.

Incredibly versatile, leopard hunts on land, up on the trees and in water. On the trees it can out-manoeuvre specialised climbers and jumpers, including monkeys and baboons. Leopards have been observed leaping and snatching a monkey with a bite mid-air and regaining grip of tree branches. That is, it successfully launches mid-air strike from a treetop and lands back on the tree. It goes into rivers and streams where it overpowers creatures like alligators, and hauls them off the water, all the way up a tree.

A silent predator, when discreteness will give it advantage, it can be elusive. It has a pad of tissue in the flat of its claws that act as silencers when it walks. It can literally hide in plain sight. When it tucks itself in between the fork of tree branches, it just blends with the tree trunk. It can create optical illusion to deceive its prey, including humans. A Leopard will coil its head and tail into its bodyand crouch flat on the ground appearing like dry wood lying about. Very patient. If its target are animals in a troop, it can hold its cool and then attack the last of the troop from behind.

When persecuted by humans a leopard is more likely to fight back than is a lion. And it does not target one out of a group. It will attack one person after another. Reason the Igbo say “ofu agụ na-achụ mba” (a single leopard can sack a town).

For thousands of years the Maasai people of Kenya have practiced the art of emerging from hiding to scare lions away from their kill and take it home for meet. But a leopard will drag its kill in its mouth and climb a tree. It climbs a tree carrying in its mouth a carcass far heavier than its own size. Animals like bull, giraffe, antelope. In those days, it would attack someone’s goat or sheep and drag it in its mouth deep into the forest and up on a tree.

The lion lacks these amazing abilities. In terms of general efficiency and productivity as jungle hunters, the leopard beats the lion, by many miles! Indeed, scientists have determined that, pound for pound (ie adjusted for differences in size and weight) the leopard is the strongest of all the big cat species.

It was for these reasons that the ancient Igbo revered the leopard as their totemic animal for strength, agility, boldness, and courage. And that is also why Igbo language is littered with similes, metaphors, adages and proverbs that use agụ to illustrate positive energy and abilities. Like “omekagụ”, “agụ nwa”, etcetera. And it is why many Igbo families and communities proudly took their names and sobriquets after agụ. Like “Umuagụ, Amagụ Dimagụ, Eziagụ, Duruagụ etc.

Today, as urban dwellers we can look down on the leopard. But to the Igbos of those jungle days, a snarling leopard on the loose was literally nature’s force unleashed. Every hamlet had a chant or cry that was used to alarm the community when a leopard was sighted. In my own area the chant was “ ọ wụ agụo!”. ( it is a leopard o!). Social codes dictated that a person who heard the cry also repeated it, till the entire community was alerted. And until the leopard was killed or confirmed to have returned to the deep forests, usual daily activities were suspended.

Children and women would not go the streams to fetch water. No one went to the farms nor led their sheep out to graze. Able bodied men were then organised, in groups, to track down the leopard. And think of it. Those men did not have guns. They went with spears, bows and sticks. Combating the leopard in these situations was an act of extraordinary bravery and patriotism – risking one’s life for the safety of the community. That explains why the person who eventually killed the leopard instantly became a hero and given the honorific Ogbu Agụ.

And eating a leopard meet was a once-in-a-generation-experience. Till today Igbos use the metaphor ọbụ anụ agụ? (is it a leopard meet?) to question the value of a highly priced or scarce commodity. Of course, the leopard skin was dried and kept by the leopard killer. He and his descendant would display it with pride for hundreds of years afterwards. And legend has it that reputable native doctors harvested the leopard’s bile/gall and used it to prepare the most potent charms or medicines, that warriors drank to boost their bravery and ferocity during inter-tribal wars.

Very perplexing was this elusive and powerful animal to ancient Igbos, that they even considered it a mysterious creature. A reason many Igbo dialects added the suffix “mystery” or “invisible” (owo, owu, owuru orawolo) to its name. Many areas call it agụ owuru – ie, leopard of mystery, mysterious leopard, or leopard that suddenly appears and disappears. Igbo metaphysics believed that some men acquired powers to transform to leopard. To assume the nature and characteristics of a leopard, even for a short period, was considered an attainment of a transcendental and superior state of being.

Indeed, ancient Igbo cosmology explained the entire universe as being some mystical leopard persona.The weather system and visible changes in the skies were said to be a leopard, the sky leopard. The thick clouds that formed in the sky before rainfall were its shimmering eyes just waking from sleep. The movement of tick clouds was the movement of the leopard in its marauding character. The sparks of lightening that came before a thunder were the leopard’s flashing eyes. The thunder was its voice snarling in anger and ready to pounce. The heavy rains were its urine gushing with a force typical of its strength. And bright day was the sky leopard fully awake, with eyes wide open.

The Lion symbol is not originally Igbo

This portrayal of the lion as symbolic cultural icon of the Igbos is only recent. It is driven by the influence of modern media and foreign popular culture. We watch a lot of animal documentaries these days and read a lot of books that continue to inform us the lion is the king of the beasts. True! But they don’t tell us about the king of our forests.

Today in global popular culture (eg children cartoons, films, etc) we are taught to be like the lion. Because throughout histories and in many parts of the world the lion image has been used in stories, artworks, coats of arms, logos and advertisements to depict strength, ferocity, power, confidence and success. The bible and other major religious texts also contain the lion symbolism. And so, the Igbos yielded – completely! We abandoned our equivalent animal totem, and even had to distort our language as a result.

Yet Igbo folklore is filled with stories that reference “agụ” as the king of animals. First generation Igbo intellectuals had no misunderstanding that agụ was leopard. And they were acutely aware of its significance in the Igbo culture and worldview.

In Onuora Nzekwu’s classic novel Eze Goes to School (published 1963), the ravaging beast which held the people of Ohia hostage, which Eze’s father killed but later died from the wound it inflicted on him, was a leopard, not a lion. Anezi Okoro’s 1966 novel ‘The Village School’ featured an intriguing student. Ismael was popular amongst his mates because his father was a reputed hunter who killed a leopard and took the title “The Leopard Killer”.

In 1950 Cyprian Ekwensi published a novel entitled The Leopard’s Claw. Chinua Achebe later published a short story with the title “How the Leopard Got Its Claws”. He narrated an Igbo folktale featuring leopard as the king of the animals. Achebe’s other book ‘Anthills of The Savanah’ narrates the incident when the leopard, the king of the forest, was to kill the tortoise and how the tortoise scattered sand and grass. And in of ‘Arrow of God’ he masterfully devised an English translation of a popular Igbo proverb Agụ aghaghị ịmu ihe yiri agụ as “what the leopard sires cannot be different from the leopard”.

These men did not talk about the lion

Chukwumeka Ike’s novel “The Bottled Leopard” explores Igbo metaphysics in the context of interpersonal strife during primal times. It tells the story of how men acquired metaphysical powers and transformed to leopards to terrify their neighbours or attack their animals.

Wago the protagonist of The Great Ponds (the second novel of Elechi Amadi’s trilogy) was revered in the community because he killed a leopard. He was even hailed by the honorific “The Leopard Killer”. What surprised the members of the community was that the brave Leopard Killer later committed suicide, something they deemed an act of cowardice.

Gabriel Okara, an Ijaw man, was educated at Government Collage Umuahia and worked in Enugu for many years. He wrote the famous poem ‘The Drum and the Piano’. Romanticising primal African life, he used the imagery of a “leopard snarling about to leap and the hunters crouch with spears poised”.

If you’ve read the works of late great poet Christopher Okigbo, you will see repeated references to the leopard. In a manuscript drafting the poem ‘Land of Our Birth’ which he intended to be Biafra’s anthem, Okigbo wrote of Eastern Region’s (mostly Igbos) resolve to found its own republic: “This leopard is now unchained”.

Defunct Biafran Armed Forces published and circulated a periodic newsletter/bulletin to engage the masses. It was not for nothing that the brand name of that bulletin/newsletter was “The Leopard”. Indeed, the coat of arms of that republic, which was the same used by Eastern Region, proudly featured a charging leopard.

Stay true to who you are

Leopard skin (“akpụkpọ agụ”) was the totemic body-covering material in Igbo cultural foundations. In this modern era, if any fabric should be an emblem of Igbo culture, it is leopard skin fabrics. This lion symbol expresses nothing unique about the Igbo.

Totemic symbols embody and express the spirit, history, character and worldview of a people: what they have been through on their road to civilisation. How they see themselves in the world. The standards and qualities they aspire to, collectively and as individuals.

It is not difficult to see parallels between the leopard’s characteristics and core Igbo character: There is the leopard’s individualism – that Igbo man’s tendency to take his own destiny in his hands. The leopard is vigilant and opportunistic. The Igbo are wired to identify and take advantage of changing dynamics. Think of the spirit of enterprise and consider the leopard’s ability to perform feats that are out of proportion to its size. What about the leopard’s versatility? The Igbo excel in any enterprise they truly apply their energy to. And then adaptability. The Igbo have not only survived different challenging conditions and thrived in different regions and environments. They have tuned adversities to opportunities and made huge successes out of nothing.

No imperial influence has forced the Scots to abandon the tartan. Nor has centuries of persecution swayed Jews to discard the yarmulke. The leopard was also the animal totem of the Zulu. That proud people of South Africa remain proud of it. Why then did the Igbo falter?

Written by: Anozie Awambu
Edited by: Buike Oparaugo

Very perplexing was this elusive and powerful animal to ancient Igbos, that they even considered it a mysterious creature. A reason many Igbo dialects added the suffix “mystery” or “invisible” (owo, owu, owuru orawolo) to its name. Many areas call it agụ owuru – ie, leopard of mystery, mysterious leopard, or leopard that suddenly appears and disappears. Igbo metaphysics believed that some men acquired powers to transform to leopard.

RIGHT OF WAY: NCC IS READY TO COLLABORATE WITH UK PROSPERITY FUND – NIGERIA PROJECT

RIGHT OF WAY: NCC IS READY TO COLLABORATE WITH UK PROSPERITY FUND – NIGERIA PROJECT


In line with broadband masterplan and deepening the broadband penetration in the country, Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) speaks on the contentious issue of Right of Way (RoW) and the need for stakeholders to work in harmony in order to ensure that the nation meets its broadband masterplan. He made his position known at a virtual forum organized by the British Government’s Prosperity Fund’s Digital Access Programme in collaboration with Nigerian Communications Commission and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy.


The Commission stated that it is poised to maximize the benefits of digital transformation and understands clearly that resilient Telecoms Infrastructure is the key enabler in delivering ICT services. In his presentation, Danbatta opined that the contribution of this conference will assist the Government in further reducing the impediments bedeviling ICT infrastructure, especially in the provision/ building of resilient fixed Infrastructure in the federation.


Speaking during the event, the EVC said “The ubiquitous broadband will propel social and economic development and growth of citizens, as in; local content development & innovations, the proliferation of ICT industries, building digital skills, etc. The NCC on its part is ready to collaborate with the UK Government Prosperity Fund-Nigeria Project, especially on the subject matter of today, i.e. reforming the administration of RoW and planning permits in Nigeria.”


On the side of high taxation from the various state government, the EVC assuaged the telecom providers on the strides and efforts that the commission is doing to ensure that harmonious taxing regime is brought to the sector. He added that “We also, encourage our service providers to appreciate some of the challenges faced by the state government and hope this will enable them to collaborate with the state government to effectively overcome the challenges.”


The Commission congratulated and thanked the UK Government Prosperity Fund Digital Access Project team for organizing this event.


“The Commission commends the robust contributions of all stakeholders and the general support of the UK Government to Nigeria’s digital transformation processes, in particular to this event. It is a conversation of ideas that will support existing policies and commitment to Broadband for all”, Danbatta concluded.


This virtual forum is coming at a time that the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) members lamented on the high taxation been meted on them by various state government as a result of laying of fibre optic cables in their various states. The commission over the years has played the roles of regulation, intervention and also mediation in various issues between the state governments and telecos. The EVC promised that RoW issue will be put to rest in a matter of time, this would enable Nigerians to enjoy high speed broadband across the nation as the commission preps itself for the emergence of 5G technology which it is at the forefront in the continent.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

NCC Revises Determination on USSD Pricing

NCC Revises Determination on USSD Pricing

…Initiates fresh engagement with stakeholders 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, in furtherance of its mandate to protect the interests of consumers and support a robust telecommunications sector, has revised its Determination on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) pricing published on the 23rd of July, 2019.The amendment was necessitated following a protracted dispute between Mobile Network Operators and Financial Institutions on the applicable charges for USSD services and the method of billing. 
As a responsive and effective regulatory authority, the Commission recognises that its policies are not static and may be modified from time to time as circumstances demand.

This is coming on the heels of a recent directive by the Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, regarding a review of the USSD pricing by all parties involved, following a presentation made by the Commission on the billing structure, determination of USSD pricing, current status and the way forward.

Speaking during the presentation, the Minister stated that he took the decision to suspend the commencement of end-user billing (where the consumers are charged directly from their airtime balance for use of USSD channels as opposed to corporate billing where the banks paid the MNOs for the use of USSD service) because he was “genuinely besieged with a barrage of complaints at the attempted commencement of end-user billing by service providers.”The Minister also clarified that “USSD is a service to banks and not to the Telecom Consumers, and as such, banks should see themselves as corporate customers of telecom operators with a duty to pay for using the telecom network and infrastructure, including USSD channels extended to them for service delivery to their customers.” 
According to him, “Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have no direct relationship to bank customers, and cannot, therefore, charge directly for usage of USSD channel.”

The USSD channel has evolved over time from a telco-exclusive channel used for only telco services such as balance inquiry and recharges to a channel for the deployment of a broad spectrum of services, including financial, insurance, agricultural, government services and more. The use of USSD channel has become a critical resource in the economy even more so in this era of the Covid-19 pandemic that has witnessed a rise in reliance on digital services.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, in the interest of the consumers and other stakeholders, has revised the Determination previously issued by removing the Price Floor and the Cap to allow the Mobile Network Operators and the banks negotiate rates that will be mutually beneficial to all parties concerned.

The NCC also determined that Mobile Network Operators must not charge the consumers directly for the use of USSD channels for financial services in the form of end-user-billing. The transaction should be between the MNOs and the entity to which the service is provided (i.e. Banks and Financial Institutions). 

A copy of the Determination is available on the NCC’s website, www.ncc.gov.ng.

Signed

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde

A NIGERIAN MAN, OKOLOKO MADE JUDGE OF A SUPERIOR COURT IN AMERICA

A NIGERIAN MAN, OKOLOKO MADE JUDGE OF A SUPERIOR COURT IN AMERICA

Irrespective of the negative vibes that the arrest of Hushpuppy and his gang generated for Nigeria and her citizens globally,we have tons of Nigerians that have been contributing positively to the world. It is no more news that Nigerians are among the most educated immigrant community in the United States of America. This situation has seen a lot of Nigerians taking up positions that are very sensitive and delivering.

The recent appointment of a Nigerian,Ediri as a judge is a testament to this. A Nigerian from Delta Central (Urhobo extraction), Delta state, EDIRIN O. OKOLOKO, being sworn in, as a judge of the Snohomish County Superior Court in Washington State, U.S.A. Okoloko will replace Judge George Bowden who is retiring.

Okoloko bagged his Bachelor of Law from the University of Benin in Nigeria. He also received a law degree from the Seattle University School of Law, and has worked for the past 13 years in the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where he is a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney working on homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse cases.

Before working as a prosecutor, Okoloko served as a judicial law clerk for former Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Michael Downes. Congratulation to you Edirin Okoloko, may you continue to represent well.

Anthony Nwosu and Chike Ofili

THE SOUTH, NOT NORTH, IS THE PROBLEM OF THE SOUTH

THE SOUTH, NOT NORTH, IS THE PROBLEM OF THE SOUTH

The biggest lie ever sold and bought in the Southern part of Nigeria is that the North is the cause of the under-development of the South. Sadly, for decades, this lie has been swallowed hook line and sinker by less discerning youths down South who are too naive to understand that their thieving political class remains the real authors of their misfortune, the same misfortune which is being nurtured and nurished by their deliberate ignorance and refusal to look in the mirror.

But wait first, have you been following the revelation coming from the on-going public hearing on how the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) spent over 80 BILLION NAIRA meant to develop the Niger Delta mostly on themselves in less than a year?? If you haven’t, please pause here and go to Google and YouTube to read and watch for yourself, then come back to continue reading. NOTE, almost everyone at the leadership of the NDDC comes from the Niger Delta. And for over 16 years, the MDs of the Commission have always come from the region. Even the current minister is from the Niger Delta. Meanwhile, as these Niger Delta indigens were sharing the money meant to develop THEIR OWN REGION amongst themselves ( 3.14 BILLION was shared among themselves as COVID-19 palliatives with a single staff getting 10 million as COVID-19 welfare package, as attested to by the NDDC IMC chairman, Prof. Keme Pondei before the public hearing), students from the same Niger Delta who were on NDDC scholarship abroad were being ejected from their schools over non payment of their school fees.

And remember, we are not talking of the BILLIONS of dollars budgeted for the Commission under Obasanjo and Jonathan. This 81 BILLION is just the money cornered to private pockets between October last year and now. Go to the core oil producing villages and communities in the Niger Delta today and you will cry yourself to sleep at the level of unutterable poverty and lack of development in the region. The same region that is feeding virtually the whole country.

Tomorrow, some people from this same region will expect Charles Ogbu to join them in blaming the North for the under-development of the Niger Delta.

Coming to the Southeast, during the last two govts of Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, notable Igbo sons and daughters occupied strategic position in the federal govt. We had the post of the CBN governor, the secretary to the federal govt, the very powerful Coordinating minister of the economy, the chairman of both Chambers of the National Assembly Committee on works, the deputy Senate President and the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Aviation minister amongst others. Yet, all through the 8 years of Obasanjo and 5 years of Jonathan, none of those Igbo sons and daughters (except a few) remembered that their people have always yearned for sea Port, Rail lines, STANDARD International Airport, 2nd Niger Bridge, dredging of the river Niger and renovation of federal roads in their region, provision of which would see Igbo land witness unprecedented development and get a reprieve from the long years of DELIBERATE economic strangulation imposed on her by the Nigerian state as a hangover of the Biafran war. Today, those PDP thieving political elites who didn’t remember Ala-Igbo when they had the time are on almost all Igbo WhatSapp fora brainwashing less discerning youths that the North is the cause of our under-development. When they were there, what did they do????

Is it not a thing of shame, ridicule, even, that Buhari – a man who is of a distant relation with fairness and justice – is now the one building the 2nd Niger bridge and transforming the Enugu airport into a truly International airport, the snail speed of work in those two projects notwithstanding???

Sometimes, we just have to hurt ourselves with the bitter truth instead of comforting ourselves with lies.
Southern youths must stop being fooled by their dishonest thieving political elites. We must do away with the culture of defending Southern thieves who steal not from the National purse but from the little allocation mapped out for the development of the South. A politician who stole to buy mansions in Dubai cannot suddenly become “our thief” worthy of our support simply because he comes from our ethnic stock.

Whether you are agitating for Resource Control, separate independent Nation or Restructuring, you must learn to start holding your own political , Angels will not come down to run those independent units. It is still those politicians who are our own people that will run things and if we don’t cultivate the culture of holding them to account now, we may not be able to do it then because in my place, there is a saying that one does not learn how to be left handed at old age.

Charles Ogbu

(Twitter @RealCharlesOgbu)

Nigeria Mining Week to Proceed Digitally in October and Reconvene in 2021

Nigeria Mining Week to Proceed Digitally in October and Reconvene in 2021

The mining mood in Nigeria remains upbeat amid the announcement that the Nigeria Mining Week conference will proceed as a digital platform from 12-16 October this year while the event will reconvene as a live event in Abuja on 11-13 October 2021.

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, “Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is safer to reschedule the Nigeria Mining Week proceedings for 2020, as we prioritize the safety of the participants. We look forward to engaging with the industry digitally this year and hope to be able to hold the event in 2021, in the second week of October.”

Nigeria Mining Week is organised by Miners Association of Nigeria in collaboration with PwC and Clarion Events Africa and is supported by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. This year marks the fifth edition of the event, which has garnered increasing interest over the years.

The minister recently said that, “there’s no denying the fact that the pandemic has affected the mining community adversely. The community is spending this period to re-strategize so that when the pandemic is over we can once again hit the ground running.”

The President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Kankara, concurs and says in a statement that, “the global lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 has practically taught the world new ways of doing things and our annual Nigeria Mining Week is not exempted. Thanks to digital innovation that provides the platform for online interaction, the Miners Association of Nigeria, as the organizer of the annual event, hereby enjoins our members, donors, investors and other participants all over the world to link up to the virtual edition of Nigeria Mining Week 2020 and other digital platforms organized to whet our appetite for the main event.”

Home Page | Nigeria Mining Week

Successful transition to digital
Since the start of the pandemic and the resultant travel and movement restrictions, the event co-organisers Clarion Events Africa have made a successful and innovative transition from live events to digital and virtual conferencing and networking with several of its events across the continent proceeding to take place online.

“Virtual editions of industry and regionally leading events such as DRC Mining Week and African Utility Week have been very well received,” says David Ashdown, Managing Director of Clarion Events Africa. “It is clear that the industry is eager to engage, ask questions, find solutions and close deals. Our media division has been organising webinars for years and we have collaborated with them, and have been seamlessly running our events online, and will continue to do so as long as is necessary, while still managing to deliver a meaningful audience on a digital platform.”

He continues: “Moreover, we have an exciting list of topical webinars for those interested in investing in the Nigerian mining sector, which will take place on a regular basis in the run-up to the digital and live events this year and in 2021. So, watch this space, we are not going anywhere!”

Solid industry support
Leading mining sector players and longstanding partners of Nigeria Mining Week are supportive of the changes in the event’s format and dates, particularly as it concerns health and safety.

Mrs Emotan Josephine Aburime-Shine is the CEO of Emotan Global Ventures Limited, the returning platinum sponsors of the event: “Nigeria Mining Week is a great platform for the sector to be more visible.” She adds: “I would like the world to know that Nigerian minerals and metals wealth are 100 times greater than her oil wealth, and as we wake up and begin to realise this, this country will one day be labeled the land of milk and honey.”

“Given the unprecedented global pandemic we are currently facing,” says Segun Lawson, Chief Executive Officer, Thor Explorations, UK, “we understand the precautionary requirement to postpone Nigeria Mining Week 2020. We respect the decision to put health and safety of participants as a priority. We very much look forward to the event in 2021 where we will be a very supportive participant.”

“Although we are sad,” says Kevin Joseph, Managing Director, Nivek Mining, Nigeria, “considering the circumstances of this global pandemic we are all facing, it’s the safest thing to do. And even if we are unable to hold this very worthwhile Nigeria Mining Week conference this year, all is not lost in the mining industry here in Nigeria. We can, of course, hold digital events and webinars to continue to drive the Nigerian mineral extractive industry.”

He continues: “Our companies, based locally and very well connected internationally, must and will continue to support local initiatives of the MMSD, to continue to the growth of healthy project plans for the mining industry, here in Nigeria.”

Contact Information
Nigeria Mining Week
Annemarie Roodbol
+27217003500

This is how COVID-19 will change us forever

This is how COVID-19 will change us forever

There is no doubt the wide-reaching impact that the Covid 19 pandemic has had on individuals, families, businesses, the global economy and social structure. However, history continues to demonstrate that the human populace is extremely adaptive and will eventually reach some sort of recovery from this pandemic. This recovery will not be “everything back to normal pre-COVID-19 days”. It will be a new way of living and working and social interacting. Post Covid 19 recovery will be defined by lessons learned and prioritization of the most important aspects of human motivations. Abraham Maslow demonstrated this in his theory of “Hierarchy of Needs”. At the bottom of the pyramid are the needs of food, water, warmth, and rest. Moving up a left, is safety and security. Moving upwards are the needs of belonging, relationships, friends. At the higher levels of motivation, we have needs of feeling of accomplishment, prestige and above all, self-actualization.

Being at the top levels of the pyramid is a luxury some are fortunate to have. During the pandemic, these people rapidly dropped a level or even several levels from feeling “at the top of their game” to finding that they cannot pay rent and have lost their source of income. Overnight, priorities shifted from what we considered normal to dire. We were used to hanging out with friends at the bar debating on if the new car from Corvette was better than a Porsche. Now we are struggling with isolation without friends and families, worrying about the overdue rent, and the rapidly dwindling bank account that may only last a month or even a couple weeks. The thought of going from not worrying about food to worrying if next week hunger and starvation will happen, is a scary one. Furthermore, the imaginative future visuals of civil unrest and potential violence from people suffering and acting out of desperation.

According to the World Bank, there are 734 million people living in poverty making less than $1.90 per day, which is about 10% of the global population. If the threshold was $5 per day, the number will be in the billions of people. These people in poverty are not spread out evenly throughout our planet, in many countries, the levels of poverty reach 30%, and some as high as 45%. The pandemic has pushed the global population down two levels. The low-income population already living in the bottom two levels and have nowhere else to go except dire life threatening hardship and must fight day and night to stay there on the bottom two levels.

With this being said, if you are one of the lucky ones at the higher levels, and have fallen a level or two, you are still above the newly created extreme and dire levels. You may think your new found concerns about food and safety are dire, please remember that you are maintaining yourself at multiple levels and can and must become creative in helping others. Self actualization can now be attained by sacrifices in an effort to help others in need, backup rainy day funds will go a long way to save the lives of families for several days.

I live in Nigeria, where income is one the most disparate of the world with 33% of the population living in poverty. Am I afraid of the pandemic? Definitely yes! I don’t know when and how this will end, but I do make it an effort to help others during a crisis. I have bought food packs for people that have reached out for help, I have also cooked some basic meals to distribute to people living in my neighbourhood  . I know it’s not enough, but if it everyone in a similar situation as myself steps up and does the same, then we will be able to hold up the under privileged until this storm passes. A small contribution of basic meals to 5, 10, or even 100 people will go a very long way. Many times, being kind and generous goes “unthanked” and without reward. Don’t worry. If only one person out of the 100 that you have helped returns the favor to someone else, then kindness will spread faster than a virus and will “infect” a billion people in no time.

Helping others and ourselves can only be effective if we are armed with the knowledge of what the future will bring. Although there are no clear answers or timelines of what and when the pandemic will be over, what we can be sure of is that the return to normalcy will be slow and gradual. Also, many aspects of the “normal” we have been used to will change for the long term. To assist with understanding what may change, I have come up with several predictions of life post COVID-19.

1) Education

The distinction between and school and home will blur. Many academic organizations will realize that a bulk of the learning can happen online. As a result, campuses will become less crowded, thus being able to support more students. There will be “odd / even” days where depending on the day of the week, you may or may not be required to physically be on campus. This will alleviate the fear of not being able to maintain enough distance between each student. I call this “thinning out” and will refer to the term frequently below.

2) Thinning out of pre-COVID-19 dense areas

We will begin to see a thinning out policy for any place of where people typically were in close physical proximity of. Several methods will be used. One method it to split a bunch of people into groups, e.g. Group A, Group B, Group C, or even “Odd” and “Even”. Then depending on the day or policy, only allow a certain group to come out. The second method is rate limiting the flow of people, so existing venues with a large capacity will reduce their capacity by 50% or even 80% so that when people are at the venue, they will have ample physical distance between them.

a) No movie theatres, arcades — As a place where more than 50 people are organized almost in arms reach of each other, these venues were the first to stop operating due to social distancing requirements. The movie theater of the future will shift to online world. The online world will have a solution where multiple people can watch the same film while having a social interaction of making comments and remarks about the film. For the people finding change difficult, and the for theaters taking their last “dying gasp” these theaters will be re-purposed so that a screen with a normal capacity of 400 will allow only 50 people spread evenly to maximize social distancing. Very quickly people will realize that what good is going to a theater without the social aspect. Generation Y and Generation Z are already consuming most of their content on computer, tablets and phones.

b) Restaurants — Will need to pivot their business model to a delivery service and for their existing seats, once lock down orders are eased, these restaurants will have to employ thinning out measures of having people physically distanced from each other. Very quickly people will realize that the value of going to a restaurant was social in nature and not being able to converse with people and friends at restaurants will become a deterrent of going. Some may only separate different groups of people. Some restaurants will start online dining areas using applications like Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Patrons can order online and join an online room while having their meals. This will bring a whole new type of experience to food. Some restaurant online rooms will be so popular that they will need to control who joins the rooms.

c) Airplanes — More than 50% of existing airlines will collapse this year. Airlines which survive will increase their prices by up to 2X and will now employ drastic measures of sanitization. Sanitization will be a differentiator even more valued than loyalty miles, or oven food on the plane. Economy class seats will have at least one empty seat between each seat. Airlines will retrofit HEPA filters throughout the plane or retrofit hospital grade air filtering systems for the entire aircraft. New certification bodies will emerge which can set standards for hygiene and sanitization, and period testing where passengers and transparently see the results of such testing.

d) Other public transit — These all will follow in lines with the Airline industry. Queuing for boarding and disembarking will follow a much more orderly process to maximize physical distancing. There will be increased technology based screening for passengers boarding and increased automation to prevent touching of buttons. There will be a massive increase on the use of facial recognition systems to automate personal preferences and choices.

3) Healthcare, Health Habits and Changes

a) Obesity and alcoholism becomes a problem — Lifestyles will change and many people will become used to the sedentary lifestyles of isolation. Those without prior exercise discipline will gain weight and be more prone to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.

b) Everyone who can get COVID will get it by mid June 2020 — at the current trajectory exponential growth rate of infections, close to 40% of the global population will have been infected symptomatically or asymptomatically by mid June. At a worst case scenario without measures to slow the spread, by June, the growth will begin to naturally taper down, and potential infection hosts will have developed an immunity for the current strain of COVID-19 through past infection.

c) New strains of viruses will emerge and some people and governments will have to just continue with daily life instead of a another multi month lock down, and just deal with the potential impacts of infection as it happens.

d) Telemedicine huge advances, remote diagnoses — Patient to doctor ratios will increase out of necessity because of the lack of doctors. The shortage of doctors forces doctors to operate in a more efficient method. Experienced doctors will be able to share their knowledge and diagnostic capability to less experienced doctors through remote diagnostics over the Internet. A new class of medical professional somewhere between a doctor and nurse who has only specific knowledge on handling only specific infection related cases will emerge to handle the growing need for doctors. These new doctors will be trained rapidly from existing nurses. Remote diagnostic medical sensor companies will emerge and remote vital signs sensor hardware will become a norm for doctors providing remote diagnostics. Within 2 years 75% of most doctor interactions will occur through virtual consultations. Internet connected Vital sign sensors will become standards in every home, like bandages and blood pressure meters, and will cost less than $100.

e) Pharmaceutical industry will streamline drug testing/development cycle — Virus mutation rates will increase and although COVID-19 will have a vaccine, new rapidly emerging strains of the virus will occur faster than vaccines and treatments can be discovered. Pharma companies will completely change their methods for developing and testing new drugs and vaccines by using less human trials and more Artificial based deep learning methods to validate and test drug candidates to reduce the time to market. Realtime feedback from patients who have been administered the new drugs will immediately feedback into the AI algorithms to make minute manufacturing and formulation changes to adapt to a changing situation.

4) Social Interaction

The way we normally accustom friendship and leadership through physical touch will change. Handshaking will become a taboo, friendly taps on the shoulders and hugs will be deemed “insensitive” and “unhygienic”. Kissing will become a taboo equivalent of unprotected sex during the HIV / AIDS era.

a) Face masks will become the norm for many people in most countries. Masks are worn in weather conditions and by the young and old and even celebrities. Many people will enjoy the comforting feeling of being enclosed with a mask. In the age of facial recognition through cameras, traditional masks will prevent facial recognition, new nano materials will be used to create effective masks which allow a new generation of security cameras to “see through” these masks and continue to perform the intended facial recognition. People using legacy masks may be denied access to sensitive areas. Mask technology will advance to use nano hypoallergenic materials.

b) New ways of being social without physical proximity — We are already seeing social dynamics and cultures develop in the online world. Friendships are being made online. Online dating is the norm now. The next step humanity will take will be where human contact and physical proximity will be limited to only the extremely close social partners and will become a norm to be physically close to only a single person exclusively.

c) New culture developed around new social applications. The endorphins produced today by social interaction will be replaced and even eclipsed by the endorphins produced in the future by software applications which incorporate game dynamics. People will prefer the higher intensity endorphins from games and online social interactions rather than the “real thing”

d) Handshaking completely disappears. Western cultures adopt Asian “bowing” as a more hygienic means of greeting people in person. Some people “too cool” for bowing because of the stigma invent new non contact methods of greetings.

e) Larger disparity in knowledge — The population bifurcates into a group which uses the down time to educate and get smarter researching new knowledge on the Internet, while other group abstains from the pressures from daily routines and learning and begins to become accustomed to the sedentary lifestyle. Rich becomes associated with motivated and Poor becomes associated with unmotivated, the correlation becomes stronger over the years.

5) Focus on Biosecurity

Physical security is normal now, Cybersecurity is already a new concept to most, yet gathering constant coverage in the news. The next generation security is Bio-Security, typically reserved for commercial operations such as farms and laboratories, bio-security measures will make its way into domestic households and businesses.

a) New wave of biosecurity companies — Companies will emerge specializing in implementing methods and technologies for increasing biosecurity. Real time analysis of antibodies and even DNA will become possible for companies and civilians, at a cost so minor that bio-security checking at ingress and egress points at businesses and residences will become normal just like it is normal to have internet at every home.

i) Cameras intelligence — Cameras combined with Deep Learning based computer vision, will be able to identify potentially risky behaviors such as coughing and sneezing and immediately alert enforcement to remedy the situation. Coughing while outside and without a mask will be considered highly inconsiderate, the equivalent of urinating on a public wall.

ii) Intelligence gathered through cameras and smartphones will be used to track infected people, contacts of infected people and people demonstrating high risk behavior. This data will be visualized on real time heat maps of every major city indicating high, medium, low risk areas. Wearables are used to notify people when they are moving into an area with higher risk than their current location.

b) Businesses such as restaurants and hotels will be rated based on their adherence to strict biosecurity measures.

6) Food and Production

a) Food shortage — Within the next 5 years, there is a risk of food shortage because many cross border trade in food will be reduced. Many countries will need to grow their own food, and countries with a net import of food will have a shortage. New technologies in food production will need to be quickly implemented. Smart Agriculture technologies such as climate resistant agriculture, growth in green house based agriculture and indoor multi level hydroponics and aquaponics systems. If food supply does not increase with the demand of the population, large scale starvation will occur and even reduction of a country’s population thus its relevance.

b) Food safety / biosecurity — Restaurants will not only have a food safety score, but also a bio-security score, which is determined by their existing food preparation processes. Restaurants which cannot offer proof of a high level of bio-security will not be able to continue to successfully compete with other who do. At the highest levels of bio-security, food will be prepared by mainly robots and minimal human staff, who will live and work at the restaurant in and repeating cycles of work, isolation, rest , where each cycle can last up to 6 months.

c) Robotic farming — To reduce the risk of infection, people will prefer fruits and vegetables farmed by machines and robots instead of by humans. The price of human farmed products will be less than half of robotically produced fruits and vegetables since they will be less desirable due to infection risk.

d) “Ghost kitchen” businesses will grow — Ghost kitchens are large warehouses and buildings operating in a shared space concept, similar to a shared serviced office. A company in a shared office can start small, and scale large overnight. Since many sit in restaurants will wane in popularity due to biosecurity concerns, many existing restaurants and new ones will operate in a “take out only” fashion. Currently, there may only be 3 or 4 options for ordering a pizza, but with Ghost kitchens, these “virtual restaurants” will have dozens, if not hundreds of choices of selecting a pizza take out restaurants. Many of these restaurants will operate in the same shared “ghost kitchen” and may even be owned by the same owner. The price of take out food will decrease by more than 30% as these “Ghost kitchens” will not have as much overhead and can handle a larger amount of orders.

e) Smoking / Vaping — More and more people will wear face masks in public and will find it difficult to smoke while wearing a mask as the mask needs to be removed or moved to make way of inserting a cigarette or vape into the mouth. Knowing that touching a mask is a dangerous action to take when trying to prevent virus, these people will opt for an alternate way of stimulation, and will opt for chewing tobacco such as Snus used in the Nordic countries.

7) Energy

The shift of energy requirements will change globally. It will change from fossil fuel based to renewable energy based, more specifically the energy demand will be in the format of clean electricity and less of CO2 emitting combustion. Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) in cars will be used less. Many people have realized that it actually is possible to not use a car so much, and much of what was done using a car, such as commuting to work, can now be done remotely. Global fortunes have been spent on the projects focused on the production of oil, now that the demand of oil is significantly less, the price of oil can only drop, thus putting many oil producers out of business. Renewable and scalable sources of energy such as solar, wind, hydro electric will be consumed more. Many homes will be able to produce up to 50% of their peak load and during off peak times, they will be able to feed excess power back into the grid. This is not new, and is happening now, but what is new is the rapidly decreasing price of solar panels and batteries which makes the technology available to more and more people. In areas where grid power is intermittent, Solar and wind power will become the primary method of generating electricity and will allow for a fully autonomous energy generation unit where self generation provides 100% of the needed power in a home and also enough to operate an electric vehicle as the mode of transportation.

8) Transportation

Depending on the realizable levels of hygiene, there may be more or less cars on the road. Many people will be adverse to using ride sharing unless 1) it is fully autonomous 2) sanitation of the interior is automated or the driver compartment is completed sealed off from the passenger. These two challenges can be overcome. If not overcome, roadways will increase in congestion as people will want to ride in their dedicated vehicles. Many people now are purchasing electric vehicles due to cost savings from not having to purchase expensive fuel. If fuel prices decrease due to a lack of demand, there may be a resurgence in ICE vehicles, as the operating cost will be very minimal.

9) Sports and Outdoor Activities

This industry will experience a big change. Spectator sports such as basketball, football will prevent large numbers of fans to view the game in person. Viewing of games on TV and via the Internet will become the norm. Parks and beaches will become in high demand, and many parks and places of public gatherings will institute a “thinning out”. The supply of outdoor recreation areas will decrease and the demand will increase. Municipalities will convert these public places to revenue generating sources, similar to parking meters in congested cities. Contact team sports such as football, basketball, will decrease in popularity, giving rise to individual sports such as golf, and also the rapidly rising popularity of e-Sports such as multiuser online games. In e-Sports, hundreds and millions of players can interact in a virtual world without physical contact.

10) Real Estate Property and Migration

The population which harnesses and adapts to these new changes in society will grow and prosper, and unfortunately, the remainder will not. Crime and poverty will increase and a dystopian society may emerge from poverty. Many people will move away from high density large cities into rural areas to reduce the risk of being in close contact with too many people. As the demand for real estate will reduce in urban areas, the price of urban real estate will drop. Popular migration destinations will be areas of nice weather and plentiful beaches such as Hawaii.

11) Workplace

Only staff which have cleared bio-security requirements will be able to work from the office. Others will have to work remotely. Companies will realize that many staff who were seemingly “highly productive” pre-COVID-19 were mainly absent during COVID-19 and subsequently not required thus terminated. Rented spaced used by offices will shrink drastically. Factories will maintain their rental footprint.

12) Drones become more popular

Regulatory management of drones accelerates and makes many things feasible. More drones are being used to replace delivery services for smaller items. Some countries will have dedicated drone corridors which do not need to be coordinated with general or commercial aviation. Drones are not only used for deliveries, but for security, with AI based deep learning camera to surveil cities as well as private drones to surveil private businesses and residences. The game changer is the AI based computer vision on the drone which allows it to make decisions on how to react to various security events. Drones capable of carrying passengers will be used to move people rapidly and efficiently from their rural homes to other locations as an alternative to cars.

13) Communication Technology

Remote working and a levelling of population density away from urban areas and into sub urban and rural areas will increase the need for ubiquitous high-speed broadband. Mass deployments of fiber optic cables will happen into areas which were previously commercially not viable. New high-speed satellite based Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink will beam high speed internet to every corner of the planet. This will be useful for areas waiting for fiber to be deployed. The use of video chat / conference puts higher quality requirements for these calls. Users now demand much higher audio fidelity and video quality. Multi megapixel, Multi screen video calls with virtual / augmented reality become the norm. When multiple people are on a video call, the person on the right speaks, their audio is heard from the right, these audio technologies such as virtual direction audio will become common. Many business and homes will have permanent “windows” which are screens providing a 24×7 video conference feed to another location thousands of kilometers away. This will allow for a father working on one side of the world, have a window to his family on the other side of the world, to bridge the physical distance virtually. Although people will have to overcome the feeling of being surveilled. New types of etiquette from video conferencing will find its way into the real life.

14) Environment

Less fossil fuel consumption means less CO2 emissions damaging the environment. Leading to cleaner air. During this COVID-19 pandemic, many people noticed a much cleaner air and bluer skies. I have noticed a drastic decrease in micro dust Particulate Matter (PM2.5) decrease from 100 micrograms per cubic meter to less than 6 micrograms per cubic meter in less than a week. A clean environment and clean air will become the norm, and climate activists will have nothing to complain about, and people will stop caring about the climate change as it ceases to be a problem.

15)And Beyond

Lastly, we will realize that the world we live in on Planet Earth is amazing yet very sensitive. Fear of a potentially larger future pandemic will push technologists to advance research on interplanetary and even interstellar travel. Only 21 years ago, the thought of a space station orbiting the earth with people living on it was unreal and borderline ridiculous yet fascinating idea. After 21 years, living in space is a reality and feasible. Now the next step will be to prepare a future “Noah’s Ark” to preserve human kind in the event that a virus overtakes planet earth. Famous future words of the first person (maybe me) leaving planet earth to live on another planet,

“So long planet earth, we have learned a lot from our irreversible mistakes, and now, we have no choice but to start fresh on another planet.” …Yen Choi

Yen Choi

Only staff which have cleared bio-security requirements will be able to work from the office. Others will have to work remotely. Companies will realize that many staff who were seemingly “highly productive” pre-COVID-19 were mainly absent during COVID-19 and subsequently not required thus terminated. Rented spaced used by offices will shrink drastically. Factories will maintain their rental footprint.

WE BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE TOP SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS IN RIVERS STATE – Sprinthub CEO

WE BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE TOP SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS IN RIVERS STATE – Sprinthub CEO

WE BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE TOP SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS IN RIVERS STATE – Sprinthub CEO

In this interview, the CEO of Sprinthub, Sokari Gillis-Harry, the CEO of Sprint Innovation Hub State speaks on how post Covid 19 will be a game changer in the ICT ecosystem, as a software development firm based in Rivers State, known for oil and gas activities, the software developer made people to understand that there are more to Rivers State than oil and gas industry. Anthony Nwosu captures this in an exclusive interview

Sprinthub is an IT establishment, can we know when you started?

We started in July 2018. The name Sprinthub comes from our agile approach. We break down an idea down to its most valuable and essential components. By helping you focus on what really matters, we create a solid foundation for sustainable business success. The end result: a product worth feeling passionate about. To us, engineering mobile app experiences is beyond a job. It’s our way of connecting ambitious entrepreneurs (and businesses) with customers in today’s mobilized world. Though, the journey hasn’t been an easy one, we consider ourselves as start-up but we have a positive outlook to the ecosystem.

Why Rivers State? Many IT and software development firms are based in Lagos, Yaba precisely, why Port Harcourt?

As a service-based company that builds digital products, the need for our customers to meet physically with us is not necessary, if we do exceptional work and deliver on time. We have clients in Europe that will never meet us even if we move to Lagos. In the early days we had difficulties finding talents because the best talents are moving to Lagos, but we quickly adjusted to a Remote DevOps culture which enabled us to find talents across the Globe. At the moment our Quality Assurance Testers are in Europe. So as an IT firm, we have to leverage on technology in the areas of capacity building and skills outsourcing. We mustn’t be in Lagos as you said to scale.

Over the years you have developed many software solutions, how is the capacity building and skillset there, in a city known for oil exploration?     

It’s amazing the kind of talents that are down here if you pay enough attention. After we started working with remote employees, we found that there are senior software engineers and designers in Port Harcourt and we couldn’t find IT firms that can match their salary. They gave up and applied for remote positions oversees. We were able to get some of them into advisory positions in the company. So, the city isn’t all about oil and energy services, the ICT ecosystem is also busy and burgeoning.

Bhood Music is one of your music and online entertaining app, what have you achieved with this. A lot of online streaming apps have been accused of short changing the artistes in terms of revenue. What is different about this?

The Bhood Music team approached us to build a platform that will be is strictly for religious acapela music. We currently don’t know how much they pay their artists but their userbase have been growing and they have plans to expand to other religious organizations. Ours is to develop a bespoke software and solutions for organizations and Bhood Music happens to be one of them.

How many downloads and streaming do you have averagely in a month?

The last time we looked at their dashboard, they had over 1000 downloads per day. We strongly believe that this number would increase, knowing that gospel and accapella type of music is restricted to certain class of audience, it is a niche market and for that application to witness about 1000 downloads per day is a step in the right direction.

Do we have your solutions (software and apps) in other West African Countries?          

Currently we don’t. We are working on one that will be available for public beta testing by the end of Q3 2020. We have our eyes in the overseas markets especially the ECOWAS region. We strongly believe that we would be deploying there in no distant future.

Cabby Nigeria is an app designed to give Uber a run for their money. How has this been considering the level of signups and download in Rivers State and Niger Delta region?

Even though I am not allowed to comment on the internal business affairs of our customers, I will say the business of competing against heavily funded companies like Uber is tough, though I see them becoming a major player in Nigeria in the coming years. We strongly believe in their capacity, the market in Nigeria is huge.

What are the challenges that you face doing business in Rivers State and Nigeria as a nation?         

Electricity, Stable internet and security are the major challenges we have. We have a lot to contend with in these afore mentioned areas. They have eaten deep in our operational expenditure. Internet connectivity is still on the high side in this part of the world especially high-speed internet. These are the teething problems we face, the issue of security is another thing, but we believe that the state and the federal government is doing something in these regards.

The country is emerging from Corona Virus epidemic, what are the unique solutions that you have that you think that would interest Nigerians?

On-demand delivery solutions will become mainstream as we come out of the pandemic. Before, adoption to services like this were difficult but the lockdown left people with no choice but to give these services a try. So as you can see,  the social distancing policy by the government will spur growth in this area and we as a software development firm is well positioned to take advantage of this by creating top notch on demand solutions that is in tandem with what is applicable in other parts of globe.

As a stakeholder in the industry, do you think that the government is doing anything or much to support indigenous IT firs like yours in terms of policy?

They are doing okay, but there is room for improvement. The recent open bank policy has enabled new fintech businesses with little or no external funding to build solutions that are disrupting the banking sector. There would be a whole lot of disruption from FinTechs to eLearning solutions, what the government must do is to create an enabling environment for these. Yes, NITDA has put machinery in motion and we believe that the minister Isa Pantami the ComTech Minister understands what to do in these regards.

Do you think that Nigerians are beginning to appreciate locally developed software?

Yes, we have customers that would have hired Indian firms if they did not find us. So we can say yes to your question, but we are not yet there, we are not going to build software so that Nigerians will buy from us or we deploy for them, we believe here that they will buy from us as a Nigerian firm and more importantly, because we built a world class solutions for them. 

The recent open bank policy has enabled new fintech businesses with little or no external funding to build solutions that are disrupting the banking sector. There would be a whole lot of disruption from FinTechs to eLearning solutions, what the government must do is to create an enabling environment for these.