Technology alone can’t solve business problems

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Marek Zmyslowski, Co-Founder Jumia Travel

We are all enamoured with life-altering impacts technology has in our lives: even the littlest of tech innovation has a way of conditioning the way we act as humans. Take, for instance, the ubiquitous smartphones – they have not only shaped the nature and modes of human interactions, multimillion dollar businesses have also been birthed based on their existence.

“Technology is always created by humans and in turn re-defining what we can and will do. Every single technological change is now impacting humanity in a much deeper way than ever before,” futurist author, Gerd Leonhard, tells Forbes in a 2016 interview.

But technology is not an end in itself when business is concerned, it is a merely a means of achieving it. Just as there are those that will point to negative impacts of technology products, so there are instances where over-reliance on tech to solve business problems have proved costly due to the absence of human connection.

While technology has, no doubt, redefined the way we do business, the soul of any business is still human. “Technology has revolutionised manufacturing,” says Marek Zmyslowski, the chief executive officer of HotelOga.com and co-founder of Jumia Travel in a tweetchat with The Guardian on Thursday. “But humans are still irreplaceable in services.”

But Zmyslowski is quick to point out that technology has been instrumental in revolutionising the travel industry, especially when the different players in the industry have to connect real time. “Technology obviously is a must here,” he says.

However, while technology can shape, and perhaps, refine a corporate culture that defines what a business stands for, it cannot create one on its own. Zmyslowski acknowledges this seeming shortcoming and argues that businesses thrive when their corporate cultures have a human face. To him, human-to-human connection in business environment irrespective of what technology is in use aids seamless decision-making.

“How your employees treat each other will affect how they treat customers,” he notes.
For instance, if your employees have created a culture of not helping each other solve problems that arise on the job, it may be difficult for them to offer a helping hand to a customer who has a hard time understanding a product or service, especially if that product/service is technological in nature.

Will that attitude be detrimental to a business?

I think so. Take note that acquiring customers can be done through technology, but a human-to-human approach is vital to retaining them.

The implication is that businesses need to understand where human and technological influences begin and end. There should be a clear demarcation of expectations –the expected deliverables from technologies used in a corporate environment and those of employees.

Bear in mind that technology can enhance the visibility and viability of your business. But it can only do much. I am yet to see a Twitter handle that posts content on its own without human being behind it nor can a self-driving car exists without engineers. Like Leonhard says, “we should embrace technology but not become it because technology is not what we seek, it’s how we seek!”

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mMcegh

Reforming governance via technology

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Special Adviser to the Kaduna State Governor, Muyiwa Adekeye (left); Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; Photographer, Bedge Pictures, Emeka Amafor and Media Enthusiast Blogger, Agada Charles

Yesterday at SMW Lagos, EiE Nigeria in collaboration with USAID SACE hosted an event called; Office of the Citizen: Demo of the Office of the Citizen Portal. Here, EiE showcased three new apps developed to solve societal problems.

myVoice.com.ng is a tool that aggregates rants from Twitter to give an index of the pulse of citizens over a specific period of time. Power Dispute Advocates is another that aids electricity advocacy, while Med Police helps to report and follow up on cases around medical negligence. These three tools are winning apps from a series of hackathons organised by EiE.

“We need to do a better job of telling stories of how tech is being used as a tool to effect positive reform,” said Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director of EiE. Enough is Enough Nigeria is an NGO focused on promoting good governance via active citizen participation. They run the Office Of The Citizen (OOTC) campaign to educate Nigerians on the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

At the end of the session, panellists agreed that it is the right of the citizens to demand transparency and accountability from governance. The session was moderated by Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun and featured Tosin Abolaji of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria; Stanley Achonu, Operations Manager, BudgIT and Yemi Adamolekun, as panel discussants.

In another session hosted by the same organisations, public officials compared notes on the different methods they employ to factor technology into every facet of their operations and citizen engagement. Osita Okechukwu, DG, VON; Tom Obey, ICT Consultant at NEMA; Oyebanji Filani, Ministry of Health; Bankole Omishore, representing the Senate President Bukola Saraki, were panellists at ‘Technology as a Policy Imperative: Spotlight on Public Officials Who Leverage Technology.’

“If you don’t grow with technology you will be left behind. At VON we are constantly adopting the latest technologies to reach a wider audience more effectively. We recently launched a website that lets anyone become an eye-witness reporter,” shared Osita. Tom Obey said embracing technology has reduced operational costs, and increased operational efficiency. He said, “NEMA heavily leverages social media to engage with citizens via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. Lots of internal communication are done over Skype and Facebook as a way of instilling a new culture.” The agency is currently working on NEMA TV, a channel the agency plans to use to keep the public updated about its activities.

Bankole Omishore touched on technology tools currently being utilized by the Nigerian Senate to more effectively engage Nigerians. “The Nigerian Senate currently live-tweets and livestreams all plenary session. From April, they plan to commence the streaming of committee hearings. They are also currently working towards broadcasting plenary sessions on terrestrial and digital television.”

The governor of Kaduna state, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, in an auxillary session, admonished “online activists” to use social media responsibly and avoid making inflammatory statements that could lead to increased division, intolerance and even violence.

In an interview with Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun, he admitted that a good number of civil servants are in their 50s hence the reason for the slow adoption of tech in public administration. “Presently, of the 25,000 civil servants in Kaduna State, only 5,000 are ICT compliant. The solution is to inject more young people into the civil service space; something the Kaduna State government is currently doing” he said.

Mallam El-Rufai believes that technology is a tool for human progress and therefore a tool for governance. He also said, technology, innovation and digital media is the way to go for electoral reforms to happen.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m0YOPi

I billion reach later, SMW Lagos comes of age

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Ngozi Odita

Ngozi Odita is co-founder and executive director of the biggest conference in Africa. She is also founder at AFRIKA21, a media and production outfit. Ngozi has extensive background in Integrated Marketing and her role at Social Media Week Lagos is to guide the conference mission and objectives as well as oversee programming and production. As the fifth edition wraps today, she shares what her high points have been.

Social Media Week Lagos 2017 closes today; how does that make you feel? I feel really happy; not in the sense that it’s ending, but in the sense that we’re able to do most of what we wanted to do. It’s always a challenge not knowing how things will turn out. Our attendance, so far, has been larger than last year and we’ve got a couple of positive feedback. We changed formats in our programming and they were well received. We’re happy.

What have been the highlights of this year’s series of events for you?
When I look at our interactive spaces and see hundreds of people gathered and having interesting conversations, that is major for me. Another cool thing is the night programming we introduced to show the creative side of Lagos. It was exciting to see people attend. We had an ‘Afrobeat and Eat’ event that focused on food and good music. Then we had ‘Shop Africa’. We want to be able to create more networking opportunities outside the conference. We’re also trying to show other people in Lagos who are not on the tech scene.

What were your expectations and have they been met?
We set a really high bar for ourselves for attendance and social engagement numbers. But from the look of things, we’re happy to see the event packed everyday and with encouraging feedback. Last year, our social reach was 810 million so this year we must have over a billion.

This is your 5th year organising SMW Lagos, does it get easier?
No it doesn’t; it’s funny how people expect it to be. We keep raising the bar that every year must give more than the previous no matter how successful the preceding year is. We continue to innovate, which is why we had new programming. We also challenge the community to do more and in different ways. It never gets easier.

How have your goals evolved from setting out in 2013?
In 2013, the question was: will people come? We deliver a conference that’s as vast as possible by curating content from the society. In 2013, we weren’t sure it was going to work but it was successful. Now in our fifth year, it’s like: what more is left? So we started looking at how to bring investors to the table. Gender balance is also a concern, so we challenged ourselves to say every session must have at least one woman speaking. Our board of directors is predominantly women; so is our team. This year, we introduced Skillshare, for training and creating jobs. We just want you enhanced when walking away from here.

What are the success indices you employ in judging each edition?
Because it’s a global conference we compare how we do locally with all the other hosting cities. Last year, we had the highest numbers so that’s no longer a marker for us. Right now, we measure by other global conferences like South by Southwest (Texas), CES (Las Vegas) and Web Summit (Europe). We don’t want to be the largest and most impacting on the continent. We just want to be most impactful, period.

What are your hopes for the next edition?
That’s a big question. Social Media Week is not free anywhere else in the world except Lagos. We want to continue to make it free. This year, we introduced N1000 fee because we thought it was affordable but registration was free online. That will always be the case. We were really excited when Chris Cox said he would attend. It’s great to have someone from Facebook and who’s essentially second in line from Mark Zuckerberg, come share with the communities, what they are doing and why they’ve been successful.

What do you expect to see from Nigerians in the social media space, in the next 11 months before the next SMW Lagos?
Our engagement numbers here are five to six times more than some other cities simply because Nigerians are an enthusiastic and passionate people whether they are talking politics or Nollywood. But we don’t do the best PR for ourselves. I’m hoping we’ll be better at communicating our stories on our terms.

How would you assess the SMW Lagos 2017 and The Guardian partnership?
Although we live in a digital world where everything’s online, nothing tops being able to see something in our hands. I really think it’s awesome that The Guardian has partnered with us.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m11lc3

Business made easy in Nigeria

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That the relevant authorities in Nigeria have begun the processes of dealing decisively with factors that have always made doing business in Nigeria difficult is quite inspiring. Specifically, recent steps taken by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to run faster with the mission of the government and activate the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council which it set up last year is a comforting indication of seriousness. The hope is that this new spirit would endure and the annual reproach that comes with World Bank’s release of “Doing Business Index” in which Nigeria always performs woefully would be removed.

In the current ranking (2017) Nigeria is rated 169 among 190 economies in ease of doing business. In 2016, the country was ranked 170. For policy makers trying to improve an economy’s regulatory environment for business, a good place to start is to find out how it compares with the regulatory environment of other countries. Doing Business provides an aggregate e-ranking on the ease of doing business based on indicator sets that measure and benchmark regulations applying to domestic small to medium-size businesses through their life cycle. The ease of doing business ranking compares economies with one another; it benchmarks economies with respect to regulatory best practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance on each Doing Business indicator. When compared across years, the distance frontier score shows how much the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs in an economy has changed over time in absolute terms, while the ease of doing business ranking can show only how much the regulatory environment has changed relative to that in other economies. Until 2017, there are ten critical factors that define healthy environment for business in this global context: they include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Business journals have constantly reported that economies in Asia Pacific and Australia have not been feeling the recession and even depression heats that have beset the West since 2008 and the annual rankings have always shown why countries in the contiguous regions have been thriving: the ease of doing business there is real.

It is clear that Nigeria’s Acting President, a Law professor, is well aware of why Nigeria has not fared well in the regulatory environment category of ease of doing business measures. And the fervency with which he has been pursuing the new policy thrust to meet most of the global standards shows that there is a glimmer of hope.

For instance, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council at its expanded meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo approved a 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business. The plan is to be implemented in three priority areas: entry and exit of goods, entry and exit of people as well as government transparency and procurement.

To show how serious the government is, the expanded meeting was attended by the leaders of the legislative arm of government, President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. It was thus resolved at the parley that the number of agencies operating at the nation’s ports be streamlined to six, a monster that had been difficult to confront.

Fittingly, the Acting President took the business-unusual spirit to the Nigeria’s main international airport on 23 February where he reiterated that the government would ensure ease of doing business in Nigeria.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Osinbajo noted: “As part of our work on the Ease of Doing Business, on making the environment friendly, not just for local businesses but also for those who want to come and do business in Nigeria, the airport obviously is one of the major places where we need to ensure that facilities are working and that things are being run properly…”

Accordingly, the reforms expected to improve Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank Doing Business Index 2018, are to be implemented by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat without fail.

Besides, the reforms will also upgrade the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC’s) online portal to ensure document upload capabilities for new businesses to be registered online.

On entry and exit of people, the Council had observed that the visa on arrival and 48-hour visa processing procedures of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) were already operational with various levels of compliance.

Meanwhile, the Council agreed to collaborate with Lagos and Kano State governments to make processes for obtaining construction permits and registering properties faster, cheaper and easier. This is a step in the right direction as Lagos and Kano are Nigeria’s commercial capitals.

It is also hoped that the National Assembly would quickly pass the National Collateral Registry Bill and the Credit Bureau Services Bill to ease access to credit for SMEs.

It is, indeed, important to underscore the legislative support the Senate President pledged when he noted at the meeting that the fact that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council wanted the bills passed within 60 days did not infringe on the independence of the legislature.

This immediate migration from rhetoric to action by both arms of government over ease of doing business in Nigeria is how democratic engagement for development should be.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mMqTbl

Kaduna airport ready as Abuja runway shuts down next Wednesday

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NAMA engineers pose with the calibration team after the Kaduna airport exercise

NAMA installs navigational aids

After much hues and cries, all appears set for traffic diversion to Kaduna airport beginning from Wednesday, when the runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, closes for the much-awaited reconstruction.

The Guardian learnt that government agencies have fully deployed and installed relevant equipments to receive Abuja-bound domestic and international carriers. Similarly, logistic services for ground handling services and 240km road travel to Abuja and its environs have been organised to cater for the passengers.

The readiness, including security arrangement, is to douses tension among air travellers and other stakeholders that are worried about the inconvenience that will be attendant of the diversion.

Recall that the 4000metres-long Abuja runway has been in bad shape in the last couple of months and was in December 2016 penciled for repair by the Federal Government.

While the repair work would last for at least six weeks, air traffic will be diverted to Kaduna airport, from where buses will take passengers back to Abuja in two-hour road journey.

Except Ethiopian Airways that has pledged to divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna Airport, other international airlines have declined the Kaduna option. While some of the airlines have informed customers of the plan to suspend operations from March 8 to April 19, others have opted for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, expressing concern over security issues in Kaduna.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), saddled with the management of the airport among others across the country, said all was set for smooth operations in the northern state.

Kaduna airport manager, Amina Ozi-Salami, during an on-site inspection, said the airport was ready to handle the expected traffic upsurge as soon as NAIA is closed.

Ozi-Salami said the runway was in perfect condition while the capacity of the airport had been enhanced to accommodate any type of aircraft. She added that the lighting of the runway had been completed during the week as well as enhanced manpower to meet the operational needs during the six weeks period.

In its bid to ensure accuracy, reliability and efficiency of facilities at the Kaduna airport, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has also rounded off the routine calibration of the Very High Omnidirectional Radio Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) and the flight commissioning of the Instrument Landing System/Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME).

The component parts of the facilities, which include Two VOR transmitters, two DMEs co-located with the VORs, two localizer transmitters, two glideslope transmitters and two DMEs co-located with the glideslope all passed the flight calibration test.

The flight calibration was handled by Omni-Blue Aviation Ltd along with their technical partners (FCSL of United Kingdom) in collaboration with NAMA engineers who carried out the installation, alignment and parameter adjustment during the exercise.

According to the Calibration Manager, Engr. Akeem Ogunmola, the flight exercise which started from Kaduna will extend to Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Bauchi.

In Bauchi, Ogunmola, said the calibration team would be commissioning three systems which include ILS/DME, VOR/DME and Non-directional beacon. Also to be calibrated are facilities in the Port Harcourt and Lagos international airports.

Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Engr. Farouk Umar, who led the NAMA team of engineers in the installation of the facilities in Kaduna, described the calibration exercise as very successful, saying “Kaduna airport is on full components of navigational aids, functioning at optimal levels.

“We can gladly report that Kaduna airport can now safely land aircraft even in critical weather conditions as far as Navaids are concerned,” he said.

In a related development, Conoil has announced its readiness to beef-up its Kaduna aviation office to reinforce its operations during the Abuju runway repairs.

The oil marketer, in a statement, said the relocation would involve the movement of its high-tech bowsers, dispensers and human capital from Abuja to reinforce its Kaduna operations. This, the company believes, will ensure that the operations of airlines continue to run smoothly while travellers go about their journeys in a seamless manner.

“The decision by the Federal Government to repair the runway is commendable. Safety in the aviation industry cannot be compromised. The move is in tandem with Conoil’s commitment to strict safety standards in all areas of its operations”, the statement read in part.

The marketer, therefore, called on airline operators and travelers for their understanding and co-operation, adding that though it may be a bit inconvenient, it will serve the general good in the long run.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mMiuV9

Snap future debated as popular app makes market debut

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As Snapchat’s owner makes its Wall Street debut, the key question for investors is whether the vanishing-message app is on its way to glory or despair.

Wildly popular with young smartphone users keen to share messages that don’t linger, Snapchat is alternately viewed in the social media world as a winning bet such as Facebook or a lackluster performer like Twitter.

Snap Inc. priced its initial public offering (IPO) Wednesday at $17 a share to raise $3.4 billion and give the California startup a hefty valuation of $24 billion. It’s the largest US tech firm to make a market debut since Facebook in 2012.

Analysts at the venture equity firm Goodwater Capital said in a report that the company has positioned itself “as the most significant competitor to Facebook in social networking.”

Snap has some strong credentials, Goodwater noted: more than 158 million daily active users creating 2.5 billion “snaps” per day in 20 different languages, $936 million in revenues expected in 2017, and partnerships with major brands and publishers.

“Snapchat is well-positioned to scale rapidly and take market share in the $652 billion global advertising market,” the report said.

Analyst Debbie Williamson of eMarketer said Snap has “revolutionized” the way young people communicate and been creative with features for users and advertisers.

“It has a pretty long runway ahead,” she said. “I think of it in the context of where Facebook was early on.”

Both companies got early locks on a young generation, with the potential to add older users with time.

“It always makes sense to stay in tune with what young people are doing, and Snapchat has really struck a chord with young people,” Williamson said.

Snap’s prospects outside the US market are less clear, she added, saying it faces tougher competition as Facebook and others mimic Snapchat’s features.

– Scale or sink? –

Some analysts are skeptical about Snap, however, pointing to the example of Twitter, which has seen only modest increases in its user base since its 2013 IPO, and now trades well below its offering price.

Lou Kerner, manager of the Social Internet Fund and a partner in the venture investment firm Flight VC, said he is avoiding the offering, concerned that Snapchat’s user engagement may have already peaked.

Snap’s IPO filing left out details about historical trends for user metrics, he said — typically not a good sign.

“We know all products have lifecycles — you can look at Twitter for a lesson,” he added.

Others said potential investors should be wary of Snap’s hefty valuation.

“Snap is a great company at the valuation of $500 million,” Global Research Equities analyst Trip Chowdhry said. “It is a total disaster at anything beyond that.”

At $22 billion, he added, “it really shows the private markets are totally detached from reality.”

Investors should learn a lesson from other onetime tech-sector stars that failed to live up to expectations, Chowdhry said.

“If you are a fundamental investor, you should be on the sidelines, you should not play the IPO,” he said.

“Basically, Snap is not a durable company. The foundations are flimsy — zero technology, zero stickiness, hyper inflated, and zero governance.”

– Generation gap –

Whether Snapchat can expand beyond its core base of teens and millennials remains a big question mark for the company.

Goodwater said its January 2017 survey of 2,076 participants from the United States revealed that Snapchat has 16 percent share of “favorite social apps” among leading social apps for users under 30 years old, but only three percent among older users.

Snapchat’s user base is “quickly expanding into older demographics, with more than 50 percent of its US daily new users coming from the over 25 age group,” the report said.

A separate survey by the research firm eMarketer projects 70.4 million Americans will use the platform this year, and that growth will slow through 2021.

The survey noted that 6.4 percent of Snapchat’s users will be between the ages of 45 and 54, as the platform attracts users with new services such as partnerships with television networks for mini-episodes.

“Much of Snapchat’s growth is being driven by older Americans,” eMarketer said.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mvOPD2

Your anti-corruption war is lopsided, church leaders tells Buhari (Read full details)

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Pray For His Quick Recovery 

The leadership of Church of the Brethren in Nigeria has expressed concern over the ongoing anti-corruption war by the President Muhammadu Buhari government, saying the fight against corruption is a welcome development, but that government is selective in prosecuting alleged suspects. 

President of the church in Nigeria, Rev. Joel S. Bill, who spoke at the end of this year’s annual ministers conference held at Kwarhi in Adamawa State yesterday, said it is shocking that all People Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains accused of corrupt practices have turned to angels after joining the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). 

“As a church, we support the anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government, but the war against corruption should be executed within the ambit of the law.

“The perceived feeling across Nigeria is that the fight is selective and only PDP members are targeted, as there are also corrupt people among the APC and other political parties,” he stated. 

Bill argued that if the crusade is not rebranded, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would soon lose it aim as an agency for fighting corruption and be seen as a government tool for witch-hunting opposition party members in the country. 

He further urged the government to intensify efforts to ensure that the remaining Chibok girls are released, adding that this would confirm the claimed total defeat of Boko Haram in the northeast. 

“Now, it is over 1,000 days and majority of the Chibok schoolgirls are still nowhere to be found, despite promises by the Federal Government that negotiation was ongoing for their release.

“While we appreciate the effort that led to the release of 21 of them, we call, with a loud voice, that more efforts need to be made for the remaining to regain their freedom,” he maintained. 

Bill, who called on the Northeast Development Commission to speed up action in rebuilding the region, called on its leadership to pay serious attention to churches, homes, roads and other social amenities. 

To avoid a reoccurrence of the insurgency in the zone, he said: “The Federal Government and state governments should empower our youths and create job opportunities, as this will reduce youths restiveness, without which they will be willing tools in the hands of greedy politicians to be used as political thugs.”

He also called on government to direct the agencies in charged of IDPs to speed up actions to ensure that the remaining 26,000 of them in Minawawo, Cameroun are returned home soon. 

He commended Governor Muhammad Umar Bindow for his efforts in providing temporary shelters for IDPs in the state capital, but cautioned against any decision to close the IDPs camp. 

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lsJiMc

Stoness House wins Ifako International’s inter-house meet…See full details

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Pupils of Stoness House (Red) celebrating their victory at the Ifako International Nursery and Primary School’s inter-house sports held…on Tuesday

Stoness House has won the 29th biennial Ifako International Nursery and Primary School’s inter-house sports competition sponsored by Chikki Instant Noodles.

The fierce competition held on Tuesday at the Agege Stadium, Lagos, saw Red House (Stoness) winning 15 gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals to beat White House (Meadow), which had seven gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals to the second place.

Third placed Majekodunmi House (Yellow) garnered six gold, nine silver and six bronze medals to finish ahead of Greenhouse (Money Boku), which managed to haul six gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals. Blue House (Adeliyi) with five gold, four silver and eight bronze medals and Purple House (Crowners) with four gold, six silver and six bronze medals finished fifth and Sixth respectively.

Awodola Goodness was decorated as the best overall athlete of the sports meet. Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Kwaghza in his opening speech restated the “need to be a balance between academics and extracurricular activities,” adding, “the problems we are having with sports development in Nigeria can be corrected at the grassroots level where children compete and their talents are discovered.”

Chikki Instant Noodles said it sponsored the event as part of its social responsibility.

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lobaBz

Doctors told Woods ‘just stay horizontal,’ agent reveals…See full details

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Tiger Woods plays his shot on the third hole during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 26, 2017 in San Diego, California. Donald Miralle/Getty Images/AFP

Tiger Woods’ agent, Marc Steinberg has revealed that the former world number one withdrew not only from the Genesis Open, but also the press conference because his doctors advised he, “just stay horizontal.”

“He flew out here and got to see one of his doctors,” Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports, said on Wednesday. “Based on the work they did the last couple of days, they advised he just stay horizontal. It’s best to listen to the doctors. The ultimate goal is to get out and play.”

If this is true, which coming from an agent it may or may not be but Steinberg has been pretty good with his releases, it sounds as if we’ve gone right back to bedridden Tiger.

Steinberg continued: “The hope was the spasms would calm down, and they haven’t.” The comeback is looking pretty bleak right now. If Woods is unable to sit up for an extended period of time, like required for a press conference, how the hell is he going to manage walking, bending over to pick up a ball, and swinging a golf club for 72 holes?

This is starting to become a bit more depressing as each day and tiny bit of news comes out regarding Woods’ health. It seems like Woods will have to decide what is more important for him in life, attempting to play the sport he once dominated at a high level again or retire and maybe save himself from further injury to his back.

•Culled from the biglead.com.

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IGP doles out N.3 million on IBB ladies champions…See full details

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golf

The winners of the 18th and 19th IBB Ladies Amateur Golf Championships were all smiles on Wednesday when the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, announced a cash gift of N0.3 million and a promise of more motivation to be announced later.

Idris made the announcement when the Lady Captain of the IBB International Golf Club, Lami Ahmed, presented the 2017 champion, Inspector Rachel Danjuma and the 2016 champion of the same competition, Inspector Amina Wilfred, to the Police management team, at the meeting of Zonal Commanders and Command Commissioners of Police.

He said all Police officers who have excelled in one way or the other in any chosen field would be adequately rewarded without discrimination, therefore “the management has approved that the 2017 champion be given N200, 000 while the 2016 Champion would be given N100, 000. Other motivational incentives would definitely follow as soon as AIG in charge makes the recommendation.”

While others murmured that the duo deserved to be given accelerated promotion to the next rank, Idris maintained that in the past other Police Officers like the first Nigerian to clinch an Olympic gold medal, Chioma Ajunwa, had placed the Police on the glorious map of sports in the country and at the global stage, their feat had not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated.

“Therefore, it would be important to consider recruiting sportsmen and women in the next recruitment exercise. People with specific sporting skills would be given special consideration too in our next recruitment so that we can compete favorably with other security agencies wherever we meet at competitions.”

Earlier, Ahmed had disclosed that the two have become outstanding golfers in the federation, who have represented the country in many African countries and the world.

“They have devoted their spare time at improving their skills hence their achievements so far. We therefore seek that the two ladies be motivated in their endeavours and are assisted through future professional training to improve, which if combined with their commitment, would reach greater heights.”

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lo6CLx

‘We collapsed, no excuses’, says Wenger…See full details

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Arsenal's French manager Arsene Wenger (R) brings on Arsenal's Brazilian defender Gabriel during the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen football match between FC Bayern Munich and Arsenal in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2017. PHOTO: Odd ANDERSEN / AFP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side had “collapsed mentally” in their 5-1 Champions League rout by Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The under-pressure Frenchman said there were no excuses as the Gunners faced a seventh successive last-16 exit after their latest mauling.

“We conceded the second goal and then the most important thing was that we lost Laurent Koscielny (to injury). We collapsed mentally,” said Wenger who will now face fresh calls for his resignation.

Wenger’s post-match press conference lasted barely five minutes and was cut short after he answered just a few questions.

“I am not looking for excuses. Overall I must say they were a better team than us, they played very well in the second half and we dropped our level,” he added.

“They were better than us, well done to Bayern. Their third goal was a killer — we had no response.” It is a shock of course to lose at this level.”

Wenger refused to discuss his personal mood after the match.

“How I feel I don’t think is the most important but of course it is disappointing,” he said although pundits thought otherwise.

“He looked particularly wounded. I feel for him — he almost needs to be protected from himself,” former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told BT Sport.

“This is a massive low point for him. This brings forward the change that looks likely at the end of the season.”

Arjen Robben opened the scoring after just 11 minutes at the Allianz Arena when the Dutchman beat Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina with a fine left-foot strike into the top corner.

Chile international Alexis Sanchez levelled for Arsenal on the half-hour, hitting in a rebound at the second attempt after he had a controversial penalty saved by Manuel Neuer.

But Robert Lewandowski restored the German side’s lead after 53 minutes, heading in a cross from Philipp Lahm with Thiago Alcantara adding a third just three minutes later.

Thiago piled on the misery for Arsene Wenger’s men with his second and Bayern’s fourth just after the hour with substitute Thomas Mueller adding a fifth two minutes from time.

Wenger said the loss of Koscielny just after the break — with the scores at 1-1 — turned the game.

“It was a strange game because we played quite well in the first half, we then conceded goals in quick succession,” said Wenger.

“I’d have loved to have kept Laurent on the pitch and it’s difficult to measure the impact, but the fact is we have to cope with the result. We had an extremely bad result tonight.

“It was difficult to shake off the two goals in quick succession — we lost our organisation and our centre back.”

The Frenchman said his side lost their composure after Lewandowski’s powerful header from a cross and suffered a “nightmare” final 25 minutes.

“We were badly done for the second goal and the real problems came after the third goal, because we lost our organisation,” he added.

“We were very jaded and vulnerable from that moment on. The last 25 minutes were a nightmare for us, because we had no response.”

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lT1c7B

Outrage as N145b questionable items remain in 2017 budget

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• Senate queries Fashola, Adeosun over N2b vote
• Reps raise team to tackle economic recession

There is the fear that a huge part of the funds borrowed to execute the 2017 budget may end up in private pockets, as no less than 276 questionable items from 55 agencies still remain in the document.

The controversial items, estimated at nearly half of the $1billion Eurobond proceeds, appear in the form of duplications, repetitions and inexplicable headings in the 2017 budget.

The expected budget performance and national development will remain elusive, while the country would have committed future generations into debt that benefitted a few individuals who diverted the funds into their private pockets. Moreover, the provisions appear to be a template that is represented on a yearly basis, thereby paving the way for the misappropriation of the scarce resources that could have been deployed for other uses.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, at the 2017 Civil Society Summit on the Federal Budget in Abuja, had said such an anomaly could only be traced in the former document presented, not the one currently being considered by the National Assembly.

But there are indications that these questionable provisions remain in the national fiscal document for 2017, especially in proposals by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) like Budget and National Planning; Works, Power and Housing; State House Headquarters; Health; Water Resources; and Transport leading the pack. Others are Hajj Commission; Education; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; and Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Nigeria is in recession, leading to a fall in living standards. The citizens now live on the margins, which makes it imperative for all borrowed money to count.

For Dr. Olalekan Obademi of the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos, this is another litmus test for the lawmakers to examine all items and ask for the economic justification.

“Frivolities and duplications have been the hallmark of Nigeria’s budget over the years, with no one to be held responsible. If this trend continues in the current budget, there is no doubt that only a few will smile, leaving the majority in failed expectations again,” he said.

Raising concern over the use of the borrowed money to implement the budget, he said there was the need for government to come out clear on its recoveries and the specific projects they would be used to execute.

Dr. Uzochukwu Amakom of the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, said if the controversial items were allowed to pass, there would not be a basis for the acclaimed change.

“First, I have always been skeptical about borrowing, not that it is bad, but the crowding out effect on private sector and mostly, the implementation. This estimated figure is nearly half of the Eurobond proceeds. As you may know, a budget like this is dead on arrival because it has been the bane of development in this country,” he said.

To the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, at this period of great economic uncertainty, the federal budget, along with other economic policy instruments, is supposed to provide a guide out of the current economic quagmire.

“The budget estimates are not anchored on any discernible policy plank. We still have a budget suffused with frivolities, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful expenditure. Every Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) seems to be budgeting like business as usual. High-level policy documents are not resonating through the budget estimates.

“The annual ritual of demanding computers and software, bloated refreshment and meals, and purchase of vehicles is still the norm. Every MDA wants a vote for annual budget expenses and administration after provisions have been made for their personnel costs which should have covered this demand,” he said.

Also, Fidelis Onyjegbu of Public Finance Management at CSJ lamented the demand for new vehicles without an explanation of what happened to the pool of existing vehicles. He described the situation as an opportunity to fritter funds.

“To worsen matters, MDAs are breaking the public procurement rules by demanding specific brands of foreign cars at a time the executive and legislature are championing the ‘Buy-Made-in- Nigeria’ campaign. Top of MDAs doing this is the Presidency/State House.”

Also, Dr. David Agu of the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, queried the rationale for the allocation of more than N1.33 trillion to the budget ministry.

“These leaders must explain in words and action, whose interest they are serving- the few or the majority. It is startling to have N901.2 billion recurrent expenditure and N426.3 billion capital expenditure in a ministry that is more of service offering, than project execution.

This demands a clear explanation to Nigerians.
“The budget needs to be reworked to focus on pro-poor priorities; creating an enabling environment for improved production and service delivery; reducing inequality and increasing national wealth. Nigerians demand leadership by example from the executive, legislature and the judiciary,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Senate has condemned what it described as double budgeting and padding in the budget proposal of the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing.At a budget defence session in the National Assembly yesterday, the Senate Committee on Housing expressed shock that despite the provision of N41.9 billion for the National Housing Programme in the budget, another strange N2 billion was planted in the document for a non-existing regional housing scheme.

When the committee subjected the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola to a series of questions over the strange provision, he disowned the N2 billion allegedly voted for regional housing scheme by the Ministry of Finance out of the N64.991billioin budgetary proposals for the housing sector this year.

Fashola told the committee that the Ministry of Finance put it into the 2017 budgetary profile of the Ministry of Housing as its own initiative.

“I do not know as much of it as you do because it is not our initiative.” “I do not know as much of it as you do because it is not our initiative,”

Fashola told the committee presided over by Barnabas Gemade (APC Benue North East).Consequently, the committee ordered its clerk to write the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun to appear before it for an explanation on the questionable vote.

Also yesterday, the House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara inaugurated a 12- member panel to begin engagements with relevant agencies of government on possible ways of dealing with the recession in the country.

The ad hoc committee headed by Olabode Ayorinde is to find out how the nation slipped into the economic mess before recommending measures for getting out of it.

Inaugurating the panel, known as Tactical Committee on Economic Recession, Dogara said engagements with the executive were crucial at this time, as the government was appearing helpless in the face of the huge job losses, low economic activities and intense hardships being experienced by Nigerians.

He said the decision of the House followed its resolve at its inauguration in March 2015 to consistently collaborate with the government in checking and balancing the executive.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lfwfxW

Apple weighs Chinese supplier for next-gen iPhone screens

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<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-243160" src="http://ift.tt/2kvxkx2&quot; alt="" width="1200" height="675" srcset="http://ift.tt/2kvxkx2 1200w,http://ift.tt/2lfzfdD 640w,http://ift.tt/2kvJ1UD 1062w,http://ift.tt/2lfxLAh 320w,http://ift.tt/2kvGcTi 281w,http://ift.tt/2lfnKD0 562w,http://ift.tt/2kvJuGr 531w,http://ift.tt/2lfu7Go 487w,http://ift.tt/2kvMqCA 974w,http://ift.tt/2lfvtkm 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"https://cdn.gdn.ng/, a key component that’s being provided by a Samsung Electronics Co. unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Apple’s been testing BOE’s active-matrix organic light-emitting diode screens for months but hasn’t decided if it’ll add the Chinese company to its roster of suppliers, one of the people said, asking not to be named talking about private negotiations. BOE, one of the country’s largest screen makers, is spending close to 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) building two AMOLED plants in the southwestern province of Sichuan in anticipation of future business. Talks are at an early stage and it’s unlikely to supply the next iPhone, but BOE is banking on outfitting the one in 2018 or later, the person said.

If BOE is selected, it will become the first known supplier of screens to Apple outside of South Korea and Japan — a triumph for a Beijing-based company best known for computer and TV displays. The U.S. company is exploring alternatives to address a global shortage of OLED displays as it prepares to adopt the sharper, more power-efficient technology for its next iPhones, catching up with rivals such as Samsung and Huawei Technologies Co.

Apple declined to comment, and BOE declined to comment on talks with customers.

The display is one of the most expensive components of a smartphone. OLED screens are more difficult to produce, making Apple beholden to suppliers still working to manufacture the displays in mass quantities. The world’s four biggest suppliers of smartphone displays — Samsung Display Co., Sharp Corp., LG Display Co. and Japan Display Inc. — are said to have insufficient capacity to equip all new iPhones this year, a constraint that may persist into 2018. That means Apple may be forced to adopt OLED in just a single version of its device this year, the 10th anniversary of the smartphone’s debut.

Founded in 1993 after employees took over an ailing producer of electron tubes, Beijing-based BOE is the world’s largest manufacturer of LCD panels by market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BOE, which started out as Beijing Orient and enjoyed the support of a government keen to champion local technology players, is now building a 46.5 billion-yuan flexible AMOLED plant in Chengdu.

While it’s ramping up capacity, it’s likely to miss the next iPhone. That sixth-generation factory won’t crank out a single screen till the summer, while new iPhones typically go on sale in the fall. When that plant is up to full capacity, it’ll be able to put out 48,000 glass substrates a month, BOE said in an e-mailed statement, referring to the thin surfaces from which screens are carved out.

Another plant in Mianyang with the same capacity and investment is expected to start production only about two years later. The company currently operates only a small OLED factory in remote Inner Mongolia. Eventually, when its two plants are up and running, it expects to be able to manufacture 1.6 million square-meters of flexible AMOLED glass substrates a year, slightly more than researcher IHS’ estimate for total global production in 2016.

Apple typically introduces new technologies for its iPhones across all models when they’re unveiled, usually in September, as it did with 3D Touch and Apple Pay. Using different core, user-facing technology in the same iPhone generation would be an unusual step. All iPhone 7 models have liquid-crystal display screens.

The U.S. company and Samsung have an exclusive OLED supply deal covering 2017, people with knowledge of the agreement have said. Yet that doesn’t guarantee the South Korean technology giant can make enough displays to sate iPhone demand, particularly given Samsung needs to outfit its own slate of upcoming gadgets. Some analysts estimate that Apple could sell as many as 90 million iPhones in the last three months of 2017 alone.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kvHM7I

Government to implement energy efficiency standards

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Energy

The Federal Government in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and its German partners in the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) is set to implement energy efficiency policy before year end.

NESP is a technical assistance programme launched and funded by the European Union and the German government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing, to promote investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and rural electrification.

The Head of Unit, Energy Efficiency, Charles Diarra who disclosed this in Lagos during an energy efficiency network workshop said 19 standards have already been developed and adopted by the technical team at the Ministry of Power Works and Housing towards the implementation.

Diarra, who revealed that the standards are at the approval stage, noted that implementation would commence hopefully by the year end. According to him, the standards, which cover household appliances like air conditioners and fridges as well as lightening and a host of others, are veered towards proffering solutions to the country’s energy challenge through power conservation.

The Nigerian market, he said does not have any required energy label as compared to developed countries, “so we are trying to support the government, especially the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on how those standards would be implemented.”

He said the standards would conform to the ISO 50001, which is an international standard for energy management, and implies that appliance and others coming into Nigeria would have to meet a certain standard of energy efficiency, and with labels to indicate.

However, the Deputy Head of Programme, NESP, Tim Heine, remarked that though the energy efficiency rate in Nigeria is at a dormant and infant stage, it has enormous potential, especially with the industrial sector.

Heine cited cases of international experience where companies have saved up to 40 per cent of energy in their production owing to the adoption of energy efficiency measures.

He explained that what Nigeria needs to make manufacturing more competitive again energy efficiency measures which start with energy audit by various companies and industries who would key into it.

Diarra added: to support the development of an energy management system after the audit, a mechanism needs to be in place to sustain the system.

Hence the initiation of the Energy Efficiency Network (EEN), a group of six companies which, are being used as pilot study to be a mechanism to sustain the energy system.

The Deputy Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access department of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Faruk Yabo lauded the importance of energy efficiency practices and initiatives such as the EEN pilot project.

“The Nigerian industrial sector can potentially save between 30 and 50 per cent of energy via the implementation of energy efficiency measures, but we need to do a qualified energy audit for the different areas involved,” Diarre noted.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lfvUv5