Notes: We have launched Tekedia Mini-MBA LIVE which runs live sessions on Weekdays 11am-11.30am and Saturdays 11am-12 noon Lagos time. Click and learn more here. We will have another webinar to make up for today as not many people could get in. We’ve scheduled for 11 am Monday (July 6th) Lagos time. This is the […]
Tekedia Mini-MBA Cloud Computing And AI
I just finished an hour-long video lecture on cloud computing and AI. Thanks Wale Olokodana, Azure Business Group Lead, Microsoft for finding time to develop Tekedia Institute Mini-MBA course on Cloud and AI. In this age of digital transformation, this session is extremely important. Our community will find the economics of cloud computing extremely important as they work on projects at work.
Community Members: It would be an amazing class with many practical outcomes for everyone. How do we approach that digital transformation? What is the cost implication? The governance around the redesign?
Get ready and register today.
Nigeria Deploys Robots to Airports As it Prepares to Resume Commercial Flights
As the Nigerian government pushes for the reopening of the aviation industry, stakeholders have been working on modalities to contain the spread of COVID-19 at the airports. Consequently, the federal government has announced plans to deploy robots at the airports all over the country.
The robots are being deployed for passenger facilitation activities, including profiling, check-ins and temperature checks, as well as detection of security threats.
The authorities said the measures are being taken to ensure safety as the country is about to lift the flight ban. The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Aviation Authority, Henrietta Yakubu said a test run is currently going on at the Lagos airport.
“It’s a demo that is going on in Lagos. It’s been demonstrated. If it works fine, it will be adopted,” she told Punch.
The aviation industry has been grounded since March as precautionary measure to curb the outbreak of coronavirus, and the decision has come at a high cost.
The suspension of flight operations in Nigeria since March has reportedly put the aviation industry at N21 billion monthly loss.
Part of the preparation to unlock the sector was a test run of flights. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has conducted a simulation flight ahead of the reopening of commercial flight activities.
The flight operated by Aero Contractors flew the Lagos – Abuja routes as well as Port Harcourt. It is expected that the Nigerian airspace will be opened for domestic flight operations soon by the authorities.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika said that as part of the precautionary process, travelers will have to arrive at the airports three or five hours before their flight. This he said will allow the robots and other safety measures to be put in use. He added that additional measures will be announced in due time.
“We will announce all the protocols again before opening. But you need to be at the airport three hours ahead of your flight. The experience is quite nice but it takes a bit of time which is why you will need to be at the airport three hours before your local flight. For an international flight, we may do five hours,” he said.
The Minister further addressed the concern of profitability of aviation operations, given the new protocols and the tendency of being infected with the virus that will likely throw passengers off. He said that the adopted measures will address the concerns in a way that will make the industry profitable.
Among the safety measures being taken, Sirika said the toilets at the airports are now COVID-19 compliant, and pilots, engineers, traffic controllers, catering staff among others are certified to carry out operations only when they have the clearance to do so.
“Those new norms are coming and we will implement them in such a way that flights are profitable. The World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization have developed protocols of the sitting,” he said.
Rwanda was the first African country to deploy robots in the battle against COVID-19. The machines were used in the testing of coronavirus cases and delivery of essential services. The Rwandan Health Minister Ngamije Daniel said the robots made service delivery faster and they saved lives working in the stead of humans.
The Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), teamed up to develop the robots. Experts have recommended the use of machines in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, due to its infectious nature.
However, there is concern that government’s move to reopen the aviation industry right now will yield more trouble. The number of cases has been increasing on the daily. As of Sunday, 28 June, there were 24,077 cases in Nigeria, with Lagos taking the maximum share of 10026 cases, followed by the Federal Capital Territory’s 1,736.
While many entertain the fear that the virus will spread, others are hoping that robots will help to eliminate the chances of spread at the airports and enable safe flights.
The IEEE said in a tweet on Saturday that the robots are ready for flight operations in Abuja.
A Seasoned Lawyer to Lead Contracting, Negotiation and IP Session in Tekedia Mini-MBA
He holds a Bachelor of Laws from Abia State University (First Class Honors), a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, and a certificate of business fundamentals from Harvard Business School. Called to the Nigerian bar, he has also been certified for, and now awaits, admission as Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law in the State of New York.
He worked in PwC. He served as Law Clerk in the Attorney Grievance Committee, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Judicial Dept., New York.
Jeff Chineme Maduka, a Tekedia Institute Faculty, will lead a session on Contracting, Negotiation and Intellectual Property in Tekedia Mini-MBA. His lectures will examine these elements within African and global dimensions.
Tekedia Mini-MBA is in session, and is still recruiting members; register today.
The 774,000 Jobs of Nigeria And The Next Level
As President Trump looks for how to stimulate jobs for Americans through changes in visa policies, Nigeria has opened its own playbook: borrow money and pay 774,000 people N20,000 per month under a special public works program for three months. Yes, the government is going to inaugurate a committee to select 774,000 people (1,000 per local government area) that would join the labour force, for only three months.
I do not think this is a good policy as it does not stimulate any leverageable factor for the nation. (Of course, this is not to be heartless to our fellow citizens who are without jobs; we sincerely hope everyone has a job.) This program will cost about N46 billion (or $129 million); an average of $21.5 million per geopolitical zone. My proposal remains: give Nigeria’s renewal energy startups $21.5 million per geopolitical region with location to provide 24/7 electricity. I am confident that instead of wasting $21.5 million in three months, per region, my option will create more than 1,000 jobs over a long-time period.
The federal government will on Monday inaugurate the state selection committees for the Special Public Works Programme.
The spokesperson of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Olua Davidson, in a statement said the inauguration would be done in Abuja by the minister of state, Festus Keyamo.
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier announced the creation of the programme to mitigate lack of job opportunities in the rural areas through a short-term engagement of 1,000 unemployed persons per local government area for a period of three months.
The initiative which is to kick start on October 1 will pay the 774,000 beneficiaries an allowance of N20,000 monthly to carry out public work.
As that happens, Bola Tinubu has informed Nigerians that he has not decided to run for presidency (lol). Certainly, no one would expect him to announce three years ahead of time. But everyone knows that Tinubu will run. Whether he would win the ticket is now open to speculations after what happened over the last few days. Do not be surprised if most APC members move to PDP and join Atiku Abubakar. The dissolution of the National Working Committee in APC is a big matter on what happens in 2023. Tinubu is not having the best days politically; he needs to get his mojo back to have a presence in the party. If that is not managed well, APC can still zone the presidency to Southwest even when many have moved in the north to PDP!
But there is good news: SERAP, a non-profit, has filed a suit against the government and Central Bank of Nigeria, asking the entities to reveal the names of the beneficiaries of Covid-19 palliatives, reliefs, etc: ‘Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court, Abuja, to order the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to “publicly identify and name Nigerians who have so far benefited from any cash payments, cash transfers, food distribution and other reliefs and palliatives during the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states because of COVID-19.”’