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ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: The Complicated Meaning of the ENDSARS Protest and Its Pains

By
Mutiu Iyanda
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1

EndSARS is a social movement in Nigeria advocating for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit known for abuse of citizens’ rights. The movement gained momentum in 2017 and resurged in October 2020 after revelations about SARS abuses. The Nigerian government officially dissolved the SARS unit on October 11, 2020, but the protests on October 20, 2020, resulted in several fatalities, highlighting the ongoing struggle against police brutality in the country.

During the protests, photojournalists reported moments that depict various issues. As part of the requirements for fulfilling the completion of Project Seminar course taught by Professor Panos Kompatsiaris of the Department of Media Communications, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, our analyst examined the protests through a selection of images that establishes brutality from both actors – police (SARS) and protesters. The goal is pursed on the premise that images could be an alternative means for viewing and accessing pains of others.

On December 18, 2023, the outcomes were presented [presentation slide] at a virtual roundtable discussion. The discussion was led by Mr Silas Obumneme Udenze, PhD Researcher from Universität Oberta de Catalunya in Spain. Nigeria’s academic community was represented by Associate Professor Abdulrasaq Adisa, Mass Communication Department, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and Associate Professor Olusegun Liadi, Sociology Department, Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State. Civil society was represented by Mr Dare Adeoye, Social Development Expert, and Mr Abideen Olasupo, Global Director, Brain Builder Youth Development Initiatives.

Our analyst notes that the ENDSARS protest in Nigeria marked a pivotal moment in the nation’s history, bringing to light the complex interplay between visual representation, political dynamics, and societal issues.

Key Insights from the Roundtable Discussion

Defining Visual Economy: Silas Udenze rightly emphasizes the importance of delving into the memories of the protest. The term “visual economy” encompasses the collective impact of images on public discourse, revealing the implicit messages and societal reflections embedded within these visuals. Mr Udenze’s critique suggests that the focus should not solely be on the broad concept of visual economy but on the appropriateness of the images used to convey the lack of democratic governance and the authorities’ irresponsibility.

Government Perspective and Media Role: Dr. Adisa Rasaq adds another layer to the discussion, highlighting the role of the media in shaping public opinion. The agenda-setting function of media becomes crucial, especially when examining the government’s perspective. Dr Rasaq’s assertion that visual economy should only be a concern when the aim is to profit by the media underscores the challenges posed by media ownership. The differentiation between traditional and social media in handling the protest demonstrates the need for a balanced and responsible approach to coverage during such events.

Social Norm Breakdown and Trust Issues: Dr. Liadi’s perspective introduces a critical dimension by attributing the protest to a breakdown in social norms and trust between the government and citizens. This breakdown is linked to citizens’ desire for fair treatment. The protest, according to Liadi, acted as a forceful expression within a social movement, where the voiceless transformed into the voiced. The relationship between citizens and the police, as members of the same society, underscores the complexities of the issues at hand.

Youth Empowerment and Government Response: Mr. Dare Adeoye and Mr. Abideen Olasupo provide contrasting views on the protest’s outcomes. Adeoye sees the youth as having spoken and conveyed a powerful message. In contrast, Olasupo acknowledges the government’s potential reluctance to address all youth demands but emphasizes the protest’s success in sending a compelling message. The manipulation of images to mislead the public, as mentioned by Olasupo, raises questions about the role of misinformation in shaping perceptions.

How Sleep Deprivation and Talkativeness Are Indicators of Mental Health Problems

By
Mutiu Iyanda
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0

Sleep deprivation research demonstrates that otherwise healthy adults who sleep poorly can suffer greater worry and unhappiness. Those suffering from mental health conditions are more likely to have chronic sleep problems, which can exacerbate psychiatric symptoms and even raise the risk of suicide. Though research on the impact of talkativeness on mental health is limited, there are a lot of evidences from the treatment of people with this illness that point to being mentally challenged as a result of jinn possession.

In this piece, as a continuation of our mental health series, our analyst and the contributor looked at how talkativeness and lack of sleep contribute to mental health issues. To determine the nature and dynamics of the two components from a spiritual standpoint, the case of a young lady was explored.

Ma’s Sudden Lack of Sleep & Loquaciousness

Ma (a pseudonym) was in her early 20s. I didn’t know her until she started having three ‘strange’ symptoms. She would talk for a long time, far longer than she used to. She no longer slept at night. Her continuous chatter kept everyone around her awake. If she didn’t sleep, no one else would either! Also, she was not worried about her single jilbab (a long, non-tight head covering used by Muslim women). She would wear it every day for days. Because of these red flags, our local mosque decided to take care of her. We resorted to this because her father and mother were separated.

These symptoms were similar to those associated with Jinn possession. However, we didn’t conclude yet for several reasons. One, Ma had a traumatic childhood experience. Two, Ma’s father was accused of amassing wealth through diabolical means; Ma’s mother affirmed the allegation. However, the father had lost almost everything he acquired when Ma’s symptoms manifested. Then, Ma’s association with a young guy before the case began was questionable. As our norm, we decided to opt for two therapies: Islamic exorcism to test for the presence of Jinn, and/or clinical psychiatric test/treatment.

Read How Do You Bring Jinns Into Your Life?

The first, second and third exorcisms and clinical psychiatry

Hearing about Ma’s case, the Imam of the mosque performed Islamic exorcism to test for the presence of Jinn. At a point in the recitation, she covered her ears with her hands. She then had a short nap. Everyone thought she was possessed by a Jinn. Her previous symptoms continued on the second day. The exorcism was repeated for the second time. The Imam later stressed that her case wasn’t about Jinn possession. For the third time, a professional Islamic exorcism, Mallam Musa, also diagnosed her for Jinn possession and nothing was found. As an experienced and enlightened practitioner with 12 years of practice, he suggested Ma be scheduled for a clinical mental test and treatment. At the hospital, Ma tested positive. She needed thorough mental care.

Read How to Identify Authentic Islamic Exorcists

What did we learn from Ma’s case?

Ma’s case provided us with some insights. First, some traumatic experience symptoms may share some similarities with symptoms of Jinn possession. So, don’t conclude until you run a holistic therapy on those who have lived through it. Second, Islamic exorcists who are enlightened about the biopsychosocial components of mental health are the round peg in the round hole of Islamic exorcism. They aren’t after monetary benefits. Third, be very careful of being the source of people’s traumatic experiences. Fourth, native intelligence shouldn’t be sidelined. Finally, avoid becoming overly individualistic; instead, identify with your community. Ma’s parents, especially the father, were very lackadaisical about Ma’s mental health; it was the mosque that covered 90% of her hospital bills and other alternative care she received.

Umar Olansile Ajetunmobi, an independent, interdisciplinary researcher with special interests in political, (mental) health, development, and digital media communication, contributes to the development of this piece through his skills and knowledge garnered over the years.

Google to Pay $700M Antitrust Settlement Following Allegations of Overcharging

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Giant tech company Google has agreed to pay the sum of $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it unlawfully restricted the distribution of apps on Android devices and imposed unnecessary fees for in-app purchase.

As part of the settlement, Google will pay $630m into a settlement fund for consumers and $70m into a fund that will be used by states.

In the settlement, eligible consumers will receive at least $2 and may get additional payments based on their spending on Google Play between 16 August 2016 and 30 September 2023.

Consumers eligible for a piece of the $630 million compensation fund are supposed to be automatically notified about various options for how they can receive their share of the money. Also, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, will partake in the settlement. Lawyers for the states in their court filing said the settlement terms will offer significant, meaningful, long-lasting relief for consumers throughout the country.

As part of the settlement, Google disclosed that it will implement changes to its Google Play app store to reduce competition barriers for developers, including the ability for apps to charge users directly.

The company said it is expanding the ability of app and game developers to provide consumers with an alternative billing option for in-app purchases next to Play’s billing system. Google added that it piloted “choice billing” in the US for more than a year.

The company’s vice-president for government affairs and public policy Wilson White, said the deal is a positive one for the company, despite the money and concessions it entails. He  added that the settlement builds on Android’s choice and flexibility, maintains strong security protections, retains Google’s ability to compete with other operating system makers, and invests in the Android ecosystem for users and developers.

Apart from allegations that it unlawfully restricted the distribution of apps on Android devices, Google faces an even bigger legal threat in another antitrust case targeting its dominant search engine which serves as the centerpiece of a digital ad empire that generates more than $200 billion in sales annually.

The company, which is a key player in the online ad market as well as a dominant force in search ecosystem, is accused of abusing its power in the ad tech market, which coordinates the sale of online advertising space between publishers and advertisers. Google has however denied any wrongdoing in these cases.

The Summary – LinkedIn News

Google parent Alphabet will pay $700 million to consumers and states and make adjustments to its app store to allow for more competition, according to the newly released terms of an antitrust settlement. The agreement resolves claims by a group of states in 2021 that Google Play operated as an illegal monopoly on Android devices. Roughly 102 million consumerscould potentially benefit, with $630 million set out for U.S. consumers and $70 million for a fund used by states. A tentative settlement was announced in September, but terms were not released.

  • App developers will also be allowed to charge consumers directly, and Alphabet will make it easier to download apps directly from their sites without using an online store.
  • Google is facing several other U.S. antitrust challenges, including federal government claims that it has abused its dominance in online search.
  • Alphabet last week lost a case brought by Epic Games alleging it used its position to profit from app developers. Alphabet said it was challenging the verdict. (source)

In 2024, Master This Skill To Accelerate Your Career

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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1

As 2024 arrives, I want you to invest in one skill: accounting and the broad understanding of Balance Sheets and Profit & Loss Statements. Yes, everything we do in companies has one destination: financial statements. And some special people (the Board of Directors) are anointed to use those statements to evaluate the health of the business. Those people are powerful, and most times, you may never see them in any building in a company, even though they control and influence the firm.

When they meet, typically quarterly, they evaluate if the coding, marketing, pitching, selling, customer support, etc are going well. Magically, they do not even need to come and ask you the coder how you are coding: they’re extracting and extrapolating based on the financial statements. Those statements are the summaries of how the firm is doing on its mission.

If they conclude that the numbers do not align for the grand vision, they tell the executive management to re-calibrate, and sometimes, due to the instructions pushed, people will lose their jobs, and factories can be closed. In Nigeria, some people reading financial statements out of GSK, P&G, etc headquarters, decided that things were not working, and commanded their lieutenants to close the Nigerian operations.

The question is this: do you understand the financial statements of the company you work for? If you do not, you are a follow-follow person with no bearing, because you are financially blind to the state of the business. When you cannot make sense of these documents, you  will not understand how the business is reporting everything ALL of you have been doing to the “owners” or custodians.

I am an engineer and I am proud that I understand financial statements. As a young banker in Lagos, I did not want to be blind; I enrolled for ICAN (graduate, intermediate), and became aware of the implication of the two most important documents companies create yearly.

In 2024, I challenge you to master how to at least read them. If you do, veils will be lifted, and you will understand that company better.

The Power of Accounting

Computing along with the whole information age is built on 0s and 1s. Those 0s and 1s are like the biological cells which are the fundamental units of life (cells make up tissues, tissues organs, and organs systems). In the world of business and commerce, the language most spoken is the language of accounting, and that language is expressed in credits and debits.

Debit comes from Latin’s “debitum” which means “what is owed” or simply debt; credit also comes from Latin, now “creditum” which means “having been loaned”. Since Luca Pacioli formulated the double-entry system in the 15th century, the core attributes remain. 

As 2024 arrives, plan to understand basic accounting. If you do not, you simply follow others, blindly. And that means you will not rise to the highest level of your call because business is nothing but accounting, chronicled in statements like balance sheets and income statements.

Indeed, your tech skill, your strategy session, your sales, your loans, and everything in that company comes down to debit and credit, souped with ingredients of asset, liability, equity, revenue and cost, with the asset (=liability + equity) and the revenue/cost delta (profit or loss). If you do not understand this, you are following others in the world of business, and opportunities will pass by which your antenna will not pick.

They have passed you twice for a new promotion even though you are the best tech guru. Have you checked? The other guy is a tech guru and also understands the business which gives him/her an edge.

Because I like to provide solutions when I write, I made sure that our Tekedia Mini-MBA (register for next edition starting in Feb 2024) has ICAN and accounting experts who can help you on that journey:

  • Accounting – Ndubuisi Umunna (ACA), Head Finance, Grand Treasurers
  • Auditing, Forensics, Controls – Yusuf O. Sanni (ACA), Chief Internal Auditor, BUA Cement Plc
  • Internal Auditing Strategy for SMEs – Abel Osuji – Director, Internal Audit & Risk Control, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Egypt
  • Managerial Accounting, Business Decision Making and Growth – Idris Ayinde, ACA, CFA, KPMG UK
  • Building Your Business Financial Models (templates included) – Michael Olafusi, Financial Analyst Fellow Brightmore Capital

Crypto is Not Perfect, but Neither is Fiat

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Crypto is not perfect, but neither is fiat. This is the main argument that many crypto enthusiasts use to defend their preference for decentralized digital currencies over traditional government-issued money. But what does this argument really mean? And is it valid?

I will try to examine the pros and cons of both crypto and fiat and explain why I think neither of them is perfect, but both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. I will also discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that crypto faces in the future, and how it can coexist with fiat in a more harmonious way.

First of all, let’s define what crypto and fiat are. Crypto, short for cryptocurrency, is a type of digital money that uses cryptography to secure its transactions and prevent counterfeiting. Crypto is not issued or controlled by any central authority, but rather by a network of computers that follow a set of rules and protocols. Some of the most popular examples of crypto are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

Fiat, on the other hand, is a type of money that is issued and regulated by a government or a central bank. Fiat derives its value from the trust and confidence that people have in the issuing authority, and not from any intrinsic or physical property. Some of the most widely used fiat currencies are the US dollar, the euro, and the yen.

Now that we have established what crypto and fiat are, let’s compare them on some key aspects:

Security: Crypto is generally considered to be more secure than fiat, because it relies on cryptography and mathematics to ensure its validity and integrity. Crypto transactions are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain, which makes them transparent and immutable. Crypto also eliminates the need for intermediaries or third parties, such as banks or payment processors, which reduces the risk of fraud or theft.

Fiat, however, is vulnerable to counterfeiting, inflation, corruption, and manipulation by the issuing authorities. Fiat transactions are often opaque and subject to censorship or interference by intermediaries or regulators. Fiat also requires trust in the stability and solvency of the issuing institutions, which can be eroded by political or economic crises.

Accessibility: Crypto is more accessible than fiat, because it can be used by anyone who has access to the internet and a compatible device. Crypto does not require any identification or verification to use it, which makes it inclusive and empowering for people who are unbanked or underbanked. Crypto also enables cross-border transactions without any fees or restrictions.

Fiat, however, is less accessible than crypto, because it requires a bank account or a physical location to use it. Fiat often imposes barriers or limitations on who can use it, such as age, nationality, credit score, or income level. Fiat also charges fees or taxes for transactions, especially for international ones.

Volatility: Crypto is more volatile than fiat, because it is influenced by supply and demand dynamics in a relatively new and unregulated market. Crypto prices can fluctuate significantly in a short period of time, due to factors such as news events, market sentiment, innovation, adoption, speculation, or manipulation. Crypto also has a limited supply (in most cases), which makes it susceptible to scarcity or deflation.

Fiat, however, is less volatile than crypto, because it is backed by the authority and reputation of the issuing institutions. Fiat prices are usually stable and predictable in the short term, due to factors such as monetary policy, fiscal policy, inflation targeting, or exchange rate regimes. Fiat also has an unlimited supply (in most cases), which makes it prone to oversupply or inflation.

As you can see, crypto and fiat have their own strengths and weaknesses. Neither of them is perfect, but neither of them is worthless either. They both serve different purposes and cater to different needs in different contexts.

So, what can we do to make the best use of both systems?

One possible solution is to use crypto as a store of value and fiat as a medium of exchange. A store of value is something that can preserve its purchasing power over time. A medium of exchange is something that can facilitate trade and commerce.

By using crypto as a store of value, we can protect our wealth from inflation and devaluation caused by excessive money printing or currency manipulation by governments or central banks. By using fiat as a medium of exchange, we can enjoy the convenience and stability of transacting with a widely accepted and regulated form of money.

Another possible solution is to use crypto as a medium of exchange and fiat as a unit of account. A unit of account is something that can measure the value of goods and services. A medium of exchange is something that can facilitate trade and commerce. By using crypto as a medium of exchange, we can benefit from the speed, security and privacy.

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