Join me to welcome ZedX Global Services Limited to Tekedia Mini-MBA. ZedX is an “Innovative Investment Company with a goal to deliver high returns on investments for its clients while remaining within ethical boundaries and ensuring that it protects the environment in all it does”. As an Institute, we are honoured for the opportunity to co-learn and co-advance with this market leader.
People of the world, more companies are invited to Tekedia Institute- begin here.
It is business for the banks and they are doing what they have to do: make money. But for the national oil corporation, NNPC, I am not sure what to write here. Yes, borrowing money from banks to buy shares in Dangote Refinery when you could have borrowed the same money to fix the four refineries you have built, but unable to maintain, seems odd. But what can we say since there are paid commenters who are now employed by the government to discredit any critical commentary (thanks Senator Shehu Sani for that revelation). I take you to that African proverb: “nwa nnunu bere na ikwubo ka no n’ala” [a bird which flies from the ground to the anti-hill might have thought that it had left the ground, but when you look critically, it is still on the ground].
Nigerian state oil company NNPC has signed term sheets with Dangote Group to buy a 20% stake in the company’s oil refinery under construction in Lagos state, NNPC’s director said on Tuesday.
Mele Kyari said NNPC is in talks with banks to borrow on the back of its cash flow to buy the stake in the 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery. He declined to put a dollar figure on the stake, but said the refinery is worth an estimated $19 billion.
As Chinua Achebe will write, proverbs are like the kola nuts upon which words are eaten. Nigeria, good luck investing in Dangote Refinery. But remember the new market regulations: Dangote Refinery by law should not offer you a different price than it offers to other customers under the same conditions just because you are an investor. If not, I will call Access Bank to waive fees on my bank transactions as I am a mini-investor!
Simply, it does not make sense to me why we need to follow this borrow-invest path. A better playbook would have been this: place an order and get a bulk discount once the refinery is running. Of course, we defer to our leaders as they have data which drives these decisions.
Meanwhile, congrats to Dangote Refinery: it is already winning. Playing as I wrote in my book – The Dangote System. It is called Conglomerate Tax: citizens and nations pay huge penalties for conglomerates to serve them!
The year 2021 will be forever remembered by the Nigerian students who participated in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination Board’s examination. Not only the students, parents and guardians who spent money on form acquisition and tutorial classes for better outcomes will not forget the year. Available information indicates that over 6 million candidates participated in the examination, while 14% recorded scores, which could be classified as “passed grade”.
Based on the poor outcome, students, parents and guardians, and other stakeholders expressed mixed reactions. From the students, the examination body misled them with the syllabus made available, saying the body supposed to issue syllabus that aligns with the areas of focus that are in their secondary school syllabus. This position has been denied by the body in a recent reaction to the ongoing mixed reactions over the poor performance.
Another reaction from the stakeholders is that the body is preparing for another examination. This has also been denied by the body, saying “We didn’t fix another UTME for candidates who scored low. “No examination has been fixed for any category of candidates. The attention of the board was drawn to a Twitter message credited to it (JAMB) that it had fixed another examination for candidates who scored lower than 170 in its examination and should come for a re-sit on July 3.”
Meanwhile, our analysis of the candidates’ behaviour on the Internet between January 1, 2021 and June 18, 2021 suggests a number of traces that show that the candidates were not actually prepared for the examination. From the educational and non-educational content providers or organisations, various contents are available on the Internet during the period. However, it is surprising that the more contents that are related to JAMB preparation are on the Internet the more the contents related to secrets for passing the examination are also loaded on the Internet.
Our analysis specifically establishes that there are 4.1 million JAMB secret contents while more than 3 million JAMB preparation contents are available for candidates. In our analysis, it emerged that the candidates searched for Jamb secret, Jamb prep 2021, Jamb prep for pc, download Jamb prep for pc, how to Jamb without studying, Jamb syllabus 2021, prep 50 app download and download Jamb prep 2021 mostly before the examination. Despite the significant interest in using JAMB prep mobile application and attestation of its usefulness by some of the candidates, our analyst notes that it is worrisome that the interest does not translate into significant outcomes.
Source: Google Playstore; 2021; Infoprations Analysis, 2021For further understanding of the implications of our insights and the mixed feelings of the public about the mass failure, our analyst spoke with Mr Azeez Abdulhakeem Ademola, an educationist and a lecturer at the Fountain University, Osogbo. He participated in the examination as a Resident Monitor in Ibadan.
Exhibit 1: Most Asked Questions within JAMB Preparation Interest
Source: Google Trends, 2021; Infoprations Analysis, 2021Exhibit 2: Preparation Versus Secret Seeking
Source: Google Trends, 2021; Infoprations Analysis, 2021As an educationist, how would you describe candidates’ preparation for the previous and this year’s JAMB examination?
It is obvious the preparation this year is very poor. This may be due to several factors but more due to negligence on the part of the candidates. Chief among the suspected factors is the Covid-19 Pandemic which disrupted every activity around the world (academic activities not left out). There is also the poor attitude towards education on the part of the candidates and even their parents. Education has lost its attraction and luster to our youths as ephemeral and mundane activities are now given prominence by all and sundry at the expense of education and other profitable ventures.
Exhibit 3: Volume of Content Available on the Internet for Preparation and Secret Categories
Source: Google Trends, 2021; Infoprations Analysis, 2021In our analysis of the candidates’ internet use before the examination, we discovered that the more they sought information about Jamb preparation the less they sought information about Jamb secret. What could you adduce for this interest?
The simple thing is that they focus more on what will work to their advantage while writing the exam. Rather than seeking to equip themselves with information about how to write the examination with little or no hassles, the candidates preparations focused more on how they will beat the system put in place by JAMB in order to score high marks. What more, they were egged on by our so-called special coaching centres that are fast turning out to be ‘miracles centres’ where all your education problems are solved.
We also found that content that encourage the candidates to seek knowledge about secrets of passing the examination are many on the Internet than those that encourage them to study hard for the examination. What are implications of these on their preparation and the outcomes?
This is a pointer to the fact that people now favour cutting corners rather than working hard. What this portends for the education and the future of the country is that they become less serious and the result of that is what we are witnessing in the just released results by JAMB. There is the need to stress that the craze by corporate organisations and others to compensate mediocrity at the expense of hard work does not bode well for the country and especially our youths.
Our analysis also indicates that the more people and organisations posted Jamb preparation related content the more they also published content that reveal the secrets of passing the examination. What is your position on this considering the fact that the candidates are expected to explore the Internet ahead of the examination?
Obviously, since we have established that people now favour cutting corners over hard work, the candidates would rather go for contents that will satisfy their immediate gratification which is to pass the exam at all cost instead of studying hard to pass. The tide must be stemmed as soon as possible.
The future of education is online; that statement is supported by data. Today, we are reading that edtech company 2U is purchasing online course provider edX for $800 million.Yes, that edX which was founded by MIT and Harvard University. Simply, they have exited, creating $800 million in less than a decade!
American universities are so amazing on how to unlock value: ‘It’s a big day in the education technology space. Edtech company 2U is purchasing online course provider edX for $800 million, following a year where digital instruction was a global necessity amid the pandemic. The deal, per The Wall Street Journal, “combines two major players” in online education — edX is a nonprofit run by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aimed at bringing elite education to the masses. 2U’s CEO says the deal signifies the beginning of the “digital transformation of education.” ‘
MIT and Harvard University have announced a major transition for edX, the nonprofit organization they launched in 2012 to provide an open online platform for university courses: edX’s assets are to be acquired by the publicly-traded education technology company 2U, and reorganized as a public benefit company under the 2U umbrella.
The transaction is structured to ensure that edX continues in its founding mission, and features a wide array of protections for edX learners, partners, and faculty who contribute courses.
In exchange, 2U will transfer $800 million to a nonprofit organization, also led by MIT and Harvard, to explore the next generation of online education. Backed by these substantial resources, the nonprofit will focus on overcoming persistent inequities in online learning, in part through exploring how to apply artificial intelligence to enable personalized learning that responds and adapts to the style and needs of the individual learner.
Triple that $800 million number, and you have the annual total education budget of Nigeria. Depending on how you see it, Harvard and MIT have won big on online education! In 3 months, they will start another one because no company can stop them!
In our small window here, I also want to thank many Nigerian universities which have reached out. The most amazing thing is this: Tekedia Institute’s Advanced Diploma program was conceived – he gave us the name – by a professor in Nigeria who could not get his school to run it, and he found liberation through us.
Today, we expect thousands of Nigerian university students to pass through Tekedia CollegeBoost (marketing brand). Teachers, professors, lecturers, etc, if they do not give you freedom, we are here to provide a platform!
Tekedia CollegeBoost is excited to welcome students from Obafemi Awolowo University. You are already well prepared by one of the finest universities in Africa. At Tekedia Institute, we hope to deepen your practical understanding of the mechanics of market systems.
You will attend courses developed by executives from Microsoft, Shell, Coca Cola, Flutterwave, Access Bank, Amazon, Mastercard, Nigerian Breweries, FIRS, Deloitte, KPMG, etc, bringing new understanding to your perspectives. Your peers have rated us 5 stars. Welcome.
Tekedia CollegeBoost is an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration designed for students in colleges. It involves an 8-week program which could be broken into two semesters or taken in one semester, depending on the arrangement with the school or group of students. This course is only offered to a group of students. To learn more and enroll your school, click here.