ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE ENDSARS PROTESTS, 22ND OCTOBER, 2020

Fellow Nigerians,

It has become necessary for me to address you having heard from many concerned Nigerians and having concluded a meeting with all the Security Chiefs.

1. I must warn those who have hijacked and misdirected the initial, genuine and well – intended protest of some of our youths in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

2. On Monday 12th October, I acknowledged the genuine concerns and agitations of members of the public regarding the excessive use of force by some members of SARS.

3. The choice to demonstrate peacefully is a fundamental right of citizens as enshrined in Section 40 of our Constitution and other enactments; but this right to protest also imposes on the demonstrators the responsibility to respect the rights of other citizens, and the necessity to operate within the law.

4. As a democratic government, we listened to, and carefully evaluated the five-point demands of the protesters. And, having accepted them, we immediately scrapped SARS, and put measures in place to address the other demands of our youth.

5. On approving the termination of SARS, I already made it clear that it was in line with our commitment to the implementation of extensive Police reforms.

6. Sadly, the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish unpatriotic interests.

7. The result of this is clear to all observers: human lives have been lost; acts of sexual violence have been reported; two major correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private properties completely destroyed or vandalised; the sanctity of the Palace of a Peace Maker, the Oba of Lagos has been violated. So-called protesters have invaded an International Airport and in the process disrupted the travel plans of fellow Nigerians and our visitors.

8. All these executed in the name of the ENDSARS protests. I am indeed deeply pained that innocent lives have been lost. These tragedies are uncalled for and unnecessary. Certainly, there is no way whatsoever to connect these bad acts to legitimate expression of grievance of the youth of our country.

9. The spreading of deliberate falsehood and misinformation through the social media in particular, that this government is oblivious to the pains and plight of its citizens is a ploy to mislead the unwary within and outside Nigeria into unfair judgement and disruptive behaviour.

10. On the contrary, both our deeds and words have shown how committed this administration has been to the wellbeing and welfare of citizens, even with the steadily dwindling revenues, and the added responsibilities and restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

11. Government has put in place measures and initiatives principally targeted at youths, women and the most vulnerable groups in our society. These included our broad plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years; the creation of N75 billion National Youth Investment Fund to provide opportunities for the youths and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Survival Fund, through which government is:

a. paying three months salaries of the staff of 100,000 micro, small – and medium – enterprises,

b. paying for the registration of 250,000 businesses at the Corporate Affairs Commission,

c. giving a grant of N30,000 to 100,000 artisans; and

d. guaranteeing market for the products of traders.

1. These are in addition to many other initiatives such as;

a. Farmermoni,

b. Tradermoni,

c. Marketmoni,

d. N-Power,

e. N-Tech and

f. N-Agro.

1. No Nigerian Government in the past has methodically and seriously approached poverty-alleviation like we have done.

2. With regard to the welfare of police personnel, the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission has been directed to expedite action on the finalization of the new salary structure of members of the Nigeria Police Force. The emoluments of other paramilitary services are also being reviewed upwards.

3. In order to underscore the importance of education in preparing youths for the future, this administration has come up with a new salary structure and other incentives for our teachers.

4. Let me at this point reaffirm the Federal Government’s commitment to preserving the unity of this country.

5. We will continue to improve good governance and our democratic process, including through sustained engagement.

6. We shall continue to ensure that liberty and freedom, as well as the fundamental rights of all citizens are protected.

7. But remember that government also has the obligation to protect lives and properties, as well as the right of citizens to go about their daily businesses freely and protected from acts of violence.

8. To our neighbours in particular, and members of the international community, many of whom have expressed concern about the ongoing development in Nigeria, we thank you and urge you all to seek to know all the facts available before taking a position or rushing to judgment and making hasty pronouncements.

9. In the circumstances, I would like to appeal to protesters to note and take advantage of the various well-thought-out initiatives of this administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful, and resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos with the aim of truncating our nascent democracy.

10. For you to do otherwise will amount to undermining national security and the law and order situation. Under no circumstances will this be tolerated.

11. I therefore call on our youths to discontinue the street protests and constructively engage government in finding solutions. Your voice has been heard loud and clear and we are responding.

12. And I call on all Nigerians to go about their normal businesses, and enjoin security agencies to protect lives and properties of all law abiding citizens without doing harm to those they are meant to protect. Let me pay tribute to officers of the Nigeria Police Force who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty.

13. I would like to thank those state Governors, traditional and religious leaders who have appealed for calm and restraint. I also thank youth leaders who have restrained their followers from taking the law into their hands.

14. This government respects and will continue to respect all the democratic rights and civil liberties of the people, but it will not allow anybody or groups to disrupt the peace of our nation.

Thank you all. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Facebook is already working to clone NextDoor before the company becomes super popular and successful: “Facebook Inc. is building a feature for users of its social network to connect with their neighbors, a push toward more intimate interactions that treads on the idea behind rival Nextdoor Inc., which is considering a public offering.” That is a pattern in the operations of ICT utilities like Facebook and Google. When they see what works, they quickly find a way to put such into their ecosystems in order to prevent users from leaving their platforms.

Call it building a moat to protect the castle. As I noted in a Harvard Business Review piece, you must be strategic if you plan to initiate a frontal confrontation with ICT utilities. But I will suggest you forget frontal attack; a flank existence may be better. With the cloud of Neighborhoods on NextDoor, investors may be cold as NextDoor goes to the public markets. If that happens, Facebook has done the damage, chipping out some needed resources which the company needs to thrive.

Facebook is developing a new feature called Neighborhoods that will provide users a private space to connect with their neighbors. Sound familiar? That’s probably because NextDoor, which is considering filing for an initial public offering, already does that. Facebook told Bloomberg it’s testing the feature in Calgary, Canada. True to form, the social media giant aims to recreate the success of a soon-to-be rival on its own service (Fortune newsletter).

Nextdoor is the neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and service. According to Bloomberg, “Facebook also has a history of mimicking rival products, and has been accused of copying many over the years, including the popular Stories feature created by Snapchat. … The screenshots posted to suggest Facebook’s Neighborhoods product will work in a similar way to Nextdoor”.

We all like neighborhoods but I do not think NextDoor will like Neighborhoods!

The CEO of The Nigerian Economic Summit Group just sent an email, informing the Design Workshop leaders of the postponement of the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit. The Summit would have started on Monday. To the Discussion Leaders and the invitation-only participants I had nominated, please take note. Largely, there was no other option. 

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group regrets to notify you that due to current state of affairs in Nigeria, the 26^th Nigerian Economic Summit scheduled to hold from Monday 26^th to Tuesday 27^th October 2020, has been postponed till further notice.

A new date will be communicated in the nearest time possible.

Please bear with us as we regret any inconvenience this might cause you.

We thank you for your understanding.

‘Laoye Jaiyeola

I wrote here that Quibi is a bad business model. Today, we are learning that the company is shutting down. LinkedIn has included my perspective as one of the Editors’ picks. This is coming after Quibi raised $1.75 billion in funding.

Streaming service Quibi is shutting down. In a statement to employees and investors, founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman said, “We are winding down the business and looking to sell its content and technology assets.” The service, which featured 5- to 10-minute video narratives meant to be consumed on a smartphone, had attracted $1.7 billion in funding in the run-up to its launch less than a year ago. Its employees will be laid off and paid a severance, anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal.

The Verge expands the reason behind the shutting down.

Quibi, the struggling short-form mobile video startup led by founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman, is shutting down just six months post-launch after the company failed to find a buyer, according to a new report.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Katzenberg called investors Wednesday to tell them Quibi was folding. That came after a restructuring firm hired by Quibi — which raised $1.75 billion in funding, including from major media companies including Disney, NBCUniversal, and WarnerMedia — provided a list of options to the company’s board of directors this week. One of the proposals: for Quibi to cut its losses and shutter the company.

Meanwhile, TikTok is fighting to ensure hate is out of its network.

The social media network that became popular for its teen dance challenges is now dealing with a problem familiar to some of its more mature competitors: hateful content. On Wednesday TikTok announced that it’s expanding its hate speech policies that already prohibit neo-Nazism and white supremacy to include “neighboring ideologies” like white nationalism and genocide theory. The service also said it will crack down on coded language and symbols TikTokers may use to spread hate speech (Fortune newsletter)

Which is a Better Business Model – Quibi vs Tiktok?

To our Nigerian members, I want to let you know that our Tekedia Community has been sending words of strength and encouragement from around the world. From Canada to Singapore to Benin Republic, the message is clear: peace and blessing.

Our immediate concern was how to pause a global product. But it seems our non-Nigerian members understand. I still apologize to all members who are not in Nigeria; a global product ideally should move on. But the challenge was that most of our staff team members are in Nigeria and with the situation there, we think it is best we give them time to “heal” psychologically. 

For Tekedia Mini-MBA Edition 2, “The Call to Execution (Summary)” is a big part of our program because it closes an edition. We will update in the Notes in the Board when that would hold next week. Our Board remains fully open but Live and Labs are paused.

Everyone should stay safe and please safety first.

Tekedia Team