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The Truth About Nigerian Youths Teaching World the Use of Collectivism in a Time of Crisis

By
Mutiu Iyanda
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0

In recent times, Nigerian youths have been praised and criticised for doing good and bad. The praise pours in when it is obvious that they made significant contributions to their personal and collective development of the society. When the criticism occurs, it is clear that they have erred. In both situations, the youths and other concerned stakeholders have had the course of creating more initiatives that increase the encomiums and that correct the wrongs. These are being done before the first health pandemic in a new decade happens. Various sources indicate that as soon as Nigeria reported her first index case of COVID-19, youth organisations in the Civil Society and Non-governmental Organisation spaces swung into action, creating a number of projects and programmes for the youths and others to cope with emerging effects of the virus.

During the early wave of transmission of the virus, UNICEF Nigeria launched a design challenge targeting Nigerian youth, inspiring them to create solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though, Knowcovid-19 Nigeria is not a beneficiary of the UNICEF initiative and other organisations, the youths at the organisation led by Abideen Olasupo [one of the co-founders] have been making significant contributions towards total containment of the virus since March, 2020.

Our analyst recently conducted a study to understand the group dynamics and factors contributing to the creation of relevant, reliable and relatable information for the public. Each member of the organisation is spending more than 5 hours a day for researching, producing content and creating infographics that appeal to varied audiences in Nigeria and beyond. Out of active 55 volunteers, 36 are in research and development, 7 in the media, 3 in content production and 9 in infographics units. Our analysis shows that over 70% of members of research and development units have monitored news between March and May, 2020 and still surfing the Internet, listen to broadcast media and make a lot of phone conversations.  Over 14%, 4.3% and 10.6% of members of the media, content production and infographics respectively have equally monitored news stories. This implies that all members are on the lookout for information relevant to their group’s tasks.

Attitude about Group Cohesion

The more they believe in taking responsibility, the more they unite towards common goals attainment. This is well pronounced when they are conducting research and creating contents from their findings. This is also observed while creating infographics that support the generated contents. Analysis also indicates that the active members of Knowcovid-19 Nigeria prioritise self-development while pursuing their daily strategic objectives and goals. They encourage each other in taking available opportunities through sharing of positions and training events in other organisations. According to our analysis, this has significantly contributed to successes recorded in the last three months.

Exhibit 1: What Unite Us

Source: Infoprations Analysis, 2020

Exhibit 2: Our group is united and trying to reach its goals performance

Source: Infoprations Analysis, 2020

Our Stories

Dr Chineye Fabian

It’s a great pleasure being celebrated for the work we do at Knowcovid19 Nigeria. The world is currently grappling with the realities of a pandemic but an infodemic has even far more weightier consequences hence the need for a group committed towards dispelling rumors and fake news through fact-checks which are widely shared via social media, while also providing rigorously researched information about Covid-19 using infographics and in simple layman language.

At the break of the pandemic in Nigeria a call was made for volunteers by the Visionary founders of Knowcovid-19 Nigeria and we started our own war against all that threatened to worsen the already debilitating situation.  I double as a Research analysist, Data miner, Health content developer and strategic planner within the group and it been amazing seeing selfless young people use their time, skills and wealth in pushing the need for the health and safety of their fellow countrymen- the results have been exceptional. The pandemic is still raging and I urge you to take care while arming yourself with the most reliable information available today.

Mutiu Iyanda

When you help others, your routes to success become shorter. When you don’t, you will spend more times, days, months and years to get to the success point. This has been my story since I joined Knowcovid-19 Nigeria, a non-profit organization, helping Nigerians, business and political leaders to understand #coronavirus, especially misinformation, responses, counter and alternative narratives on a virus that has infected millions of people and killed thousands.

Lukman Adeoti

The call came in on the 23rd March that “Lukman we need your hand with #graphic designs and #analytics and you will serve as a volunteer”. At first, I was reluctant because I had many tasks on my desk at that time. But I had a rethought that this is the best moment to use my expertise in educating people about the #coronavirus #pandemic, debunking #fakenews and misinformation about the #virus while applying scientific based methods in analyzing and visualizing Covid19 related data. Till date, we have over 350 designs. We have reached over 5 million people with our research works and 5 #continents. I appreciate Know COVID-19 Nigeria for recognizing my efforts and my teammates’ efforts.

Tijani Yusuf

I joined KnowCovid19 with the intent of contributing my research experience into debunking Covid19 related fake news and providing adequate, relevant and relatable information and safety tips.

Mariam Hamzat

A few days after Nigeria recorded her first case of Covid-19, I got the opportunity to join this amazing organisation, Know COVID-19 Nigeria as a researcher and a content creator.  Since then, I’ve been doing my part by joining the team to debunk fake news and provide data and reports related to Covid-19 to help the public.  KnowCovid19 has not only given me the opportunity to improve my research and communication skills, it has also given me the chance to meet awesome people like my team members, and every other volunteer.

Miss Baliqees Salaudeen, one of the volunteers/supervisors challenged us to take Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) ‘s course on breaking the Covid19 chain and that was the first course I took when the lockdown began! It’s been great learning and collaborating with other people while knowing we are doing our part.

Abdulfattah Furqan

Giving back goodness to my community is my topmost priority. Then, comes Know COVID-19 Nigeria just some days after Nigeria reported her index case, which avail me the opportunity to volunteer as a Researcher. Being a Researcher at Know COVID-19 Nigeria is not being easy but we kept moving.  Know COVID-19 Nigeria we have been able to debunk a lot of fake news relating to #Covid19 and also try to give to the general populace real-time information and update about #covid19. Every #knowcovid19volunteers are just so spectacularly amazing, that we keep learning from each other daily. At #knowcovid19 we are truly #covid19heroes.

Eunice Oyeniyi

Working with Knowcovid-19 Nigeria as a volunteer has been one of the best decisions for me this year. At Knowcovid-19 Nigeria we simplify data and information on COVID 19 and share verified information to combat fake news. As a member of the Research and Development team, it’s been an amazing opportunity for me because I’ve been able to learn how to use digital tools in analysing data and information. I’ve been able to use these digital tools effectively in submitting reports and data.

Abdulhakeem Abdulkareem

When we started Knowcovid-19 Nigeria, we were just passionate about dispelling fake news and making information understandable and accessible to people. Two days into the work, the activities were overwhelming, it became necessary to get many hands on board. We received over 150 applications from our initial call for volunteers. We began to structure our work for more effectiveness. We appointed people into different roles and grouped them into syndicates. Our work got more serious and we couldn’t deal with laxity or mediocrity. We downsized the team, removing all inactive volunteers and became stricter with our recruiting strategy. The faces here are the champions of Know COVID-19 Nigeria. They are not paid but they work tirelessly and are held accountable.

Samuel Babalola

Connecting and Working virtually, during this Pandemic, with people from different social backgrounds has been challenging and fun as well.  I had great experience working with my team at Knowcovid-19 Nigeria where I played the role of graphics designer with team members who are passionate about debunking fake news and making information accessible and easy to understand to the general public. I enjoyed every bit of time spent as we engaged in making infographics, statistics design, report designs and all. This has in return sharpened my design and interpersonal skills.

Solomon Adewole

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has been faced with another great pandemic which poses to be a greater threat that the real Pandemic, ranging from misconceptions about the virus as well as false news about cures, vaccines, government bodies distributing palliatives, amongst others through which people have lost their lives and resources to fraudsters.

In the light of the above, Knowcovid-19 Nigeria, a youth-led organization of young Nigerians who are passionate about making differences, no matter how little it may seem, considering that little drops of water makes the ocean embarked on a journey to debunk fake news, inform the people about the virus in different indigenous languages suck that a lay man can understand.

Since the inception of knowcovid19, we have countered hundreds of fake news as well as hold the NCDC to accountability of information been dispersed to the public. It’s a great pleasure being celebrated for the work we do at Knowcovid-19 Nigeria. I work as a team lead in the Research department, working round the clock as Data analyst, Data collector, verification and storage of information relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ghana Moves to Curtail MTN’s Dominance to Enable Competition As Helios Towers Rolls Out $450m for Telecom in Africa

By
Samuel Nwite
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3

MTN’s reign in Africa is about to take a hit as Ghana plans to downsize the influence of the telecom giant in the country.

Ghana’s telecom regulator, the National Communication Authority said it is working on “specific policies” that will minimize the dominant influence of MTN. The South African company has become the largest network in Africa dominating almost in every country of its operation. Ghana’s Communication Authority said the move is necessary in order to facilitate a level playing ground for telcos in the country after classifying MTN as “dominant market power.”

“The National Communications Authority (NCA) in the exercise of its mandate under Section 20 (13) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008, (Act 775) hereby declares its intention to classify MTN as a Dominant/Significant Market Power,” the NCA said.

MTN’s dominance became notable in 2018 after its initial public offering recorded 84.6% of local buyers who used the telco’s mobile Momo Wallet. The IPO took Ghana’s stock market by storm to become the largest ever traded in history of the market. Thousands of Ghanaians purchased shares using their Momo wallet accounts to raise $237 million for MTN.

Ghana is pushing for financial inclusion and sees MTN’s rapid growth as a threat that needs to be curtailed if other players will have a shot. In March, MTN dominated in both voice and data services, leaving its closest competitors, Vodafone and AirtelTigo two places behind.

Banks are other players in the country’s financial sector at risk of being dominated by MTN’s mobile money services. It appears that the Bank of Ghana and the NCA are concerned that the push for wider financial inclusion will be monopolized by MTN if nothing is done to reduce its growth.

Quartz reported Kenya’s similar situation where Safaricom was exerting such dominance using M-pesa mobile money service. But the government didn’t see a reason to regulate the market to curtail Safaricom’s dominance, and that resulted in the merger of Airtel and Telkom, Kenya’s second and third largest mobile phone operators. The combined efforts were aimed at disrupting the growing dominance of Safaricom and putting up resistance to monopoly.

M-pesa has the highest number of users in Kenya and it is estimated that about 50% of the country’s GDP go through the platform. It appears to be a typical situation that Ghana is trying to avoid.

Another downside of such dominance in African telecom industry is lack of competition that in turn results in high cost of call and data. Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) said that Africa is paying too much for the internet, and it will take $100 billion in mostly infrastructure-based spending to bring the cost down.

One other problem that A4AI noted is lack of competition in African telecom markets. It estimated that in countries where there is lack of competition, mobile phone users pay $3.40 more per gigabyte data.

Ghana is gearing up to implement policies that will reduce MTN’s dominance. The regulator said it will be setting call, data, text message and mobile money prices to give other operators a fair advantage.

“The National Communications Authority will in the coming days begin the implementation of specific policies to ensure a level-playing field for all network operators within the telecommunications industry,” the NCA said last week.

Meanwhile, telecom tower company Helios Towers Ltd is planning a $450 million expansion deal in Africa. This is part of the $1 billion it raised last week from the debt market. The company is making Ethiopia its immediate target as the East African country has two operating licenses to auction.

The Chief Financial Officer of Helios, Tom Greenwood said there is a big opportunity in Ethiopia, but the company will need as many as 10,000 new towers to support its expansion into Africa in the next five years.

“Ethiopia is a very big opportunity, and after a few months of being quiet its government has requested new indications of interest from telecom operators. With that now back on the table, we are seeking a financing partner and working with mobile operators to be in a strong position to enter the market,” Greenwood said.

Helios is also considering nine other African countries including Egypt, Morocco and Madagascar, which is among the reasons it is seeking partnership with mobile operators for a strong position.

What To Do When You Can’t Learn Again

By
David Alade
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0

In October 2018 I read an article on Harvard Business Review that intrigued me enough to write about it.

The article at that time received a very good welcome from my readers (you know I like that ?).

So I was going through my LinkedIn page midnight yesterday and stumbled on it again. I read it all over myself and found it instructive for a time like this.

“As we approach mastery, our learning rate decelerates, & while the ability to do something automatically implies competence, it also means our brains are now producing less of the feel-good neurotransmitters — the thrill ride is over.”

That sense of ennui eventually leads to a lack of motivation and, in some cases, poor performance. If you can instead shift your attention to mastering new skills — aka “jumping the S-curve — then you can continually stay engaged and make work much more enjoyable..”

That was the quote I came across as I was reading the article on HBR. It left me puzzled because the title of the article was “When to Turn Down a Lucrative Opportunity” and I was expecting entirely something different.

However, it made me realize that both as an individual and corporate entity, we get to a point in life when we need to change our direction, not because where we earlier faced was wrong, but because we don’t find it as exciting as we used to again. In short, we need to “jump our s-curve,” we have stopped learning, nothing new again.

As seen in the above image, we all reach maturity (max yield) and when we do as a business or an individual, to avoid diminishing, we need to get a new vibe.

This is where the principle of Kaizen comes in, the commitment to continuous learning, the ability to unlearn, and re-learn in a new topic area.

We’ve seen the world’s billionaires taken this pivot, Bill Gates resorted to ending extreme poverty while Jack Ma from 2019, aims to focus on quality education and all things in between that. And while the Oracle of Omaha still seems to be committed to Berkshire, we have seen a lot of his wealth gone for donations.

As a corporate entity also, you should evolve, the pages of history burn with stories of evolution, and corporations that have succeeded for more than 50 years will surely have stories in this context to tell; J.P. Morgan, IBM, GE, etc.

As an individual, you might not necessarily have the wealth of Bill Gates nor the influence of Barack Obama before you consider taking on a new pivot. The time is always right to take a pivot if you consider yourself to have gotten to the peak of the s-curve and the diminishing effect is setting in.

Learning something new can be difficult and I strongly agree with that but you will agree with me also that you would rather learn something difficult that takes time to achieve than stay on a curve that tends towards infinite decline.

Doing this will help you stay lively again, a new challenge, a new thrill, a new commitment, entirely different from the status quo, the brain is alive and you are waking it up to a new sphere entirely.

Now you have more reasons to burn the midnight candle and more reasons to pay a worthy sacrifice.

And like any adventure one is committed to with diligence and faith, in the long run, it pays off. And of course, it depends on how long your long-run is.

“So as you approach mastery, and your learning rate decelerates, and while the ability to do something automatically implies competence, it also means your brains are now producing less of the feel-good – the thrill ride is over.”

Consider taking on a new pivot and resurrect yourself from the declining curve by learning a new thing that thrills you.

What’s your thought, I would like to know?

Originally written in 2018 here: What To Do When You Can’t Learn Again

“Fooled by Randomness” – What Brings Happiness?

By
David Alade
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3

Early thoughts from the book “Fooled by Randomness”

Croesus, king of Lydia in Ancient Europe was considered the richest man of his time. So rich till this day, the Roman languages use the expression “rich as Croesus” to describe a person of excessive wealth.

He had a visitor one day…

His visitor was Solon, the Greek legislator known for for his dignity, upright morals, humility, frugality, wisdom, intelligence and courage.

When Solon arrived at his place he didn’t display the smallest surprise at the wealth and splendor surrounding his host, nor the tiniest admiration for the their owner.

Can you imagine that!!!

Croesus was so irked by the manifest lack of impression on Solon’s part that he attempted to extract from him some acknowledgement.

To do this he asked him if he had known a happier man than him.

Solon cited the life of a man who led a noble existence and died while in battle. Croesus prodded for more, Solon similar heroic but terminated lives, until Croesus, irate, asked him point blank if he was not to be considered the happiest man of all.

I like how Nassim Taleb summarized Solon’s answer.

“That which came with the help of luck could be taken away by luck (and often rapidly and unexpectedly at that)”

Deep (for I who often stretch the boundaries of luck). ???

The flip side of that is even more compelling…

“Things that come with little help from luck are more resistant to randomness”

Another deep words which I will often refer to in the future.

I’m not sure if Croesus fully grasped the message of Solon during the conversation but soon he will.

Not long after this conversation, Croesus lost a battle to Persian king Cyrus. Worst of the event was that Croesus was about to be burned alive, yes burned alive. Then he shouted (something like) “Solon, you were right”.

Cyrus of Persia asked about the nature of such unusual invocations and he told him Solon’s warning.

Here’s the twist

This impressed Cyrus so much that he decided to spare Croesus’ life, as he reflected on the possibilities as far as his own fate was concerned.

See the role of luck and randomness

But remember as Solon opined, another thing can happen again and Croesus’ head will pay for it.

I’m still thinking about this narration but I got comment to add now.

“Things that come with little help from luck are more resistant to randomness”

This point to me is worth ruminating over again and again.

Baring in mind that Solon said this in respect to the question of happiness asked by Croesus even makes it more compelling to think on.

If happiness is your goal, it will be futile to base it on things that are determined by just randomness because they come and go at will and your happiness shouldn’t.

But what are things that are not subjected to randomness or less subjected to it.

A trade with 50% return overnight is surely randomness on your side, on a day it is not on your side, you may lose your capital.

Without doubt, we all seek happiness and even pursue it. To say we might have one point or the other think material wealth is what will bring us such happiness will not be a misstatement. The reality is a lot of us still think so and that’s fine. I know it’s fine trust me.

I wrote a twitter thread once about the need to embrace our cravings and even attain them.

Because attaining is the best mechanism to teach us that what we really want doesn’t lie on this mountain. The earlier we attain, the earlier we realize.

The question “what brings happiness” needs to be placed side by side with this quote again

“Things that come with little help from luck are more resistant to randomness”

Think about that.

Short Nigeria, Long Nigerians: The Invention of Kilishi

By
David Alade
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1

We were having a usual conversation in one of the most cherished groups I belong to on WhatsApp recently. The conversation at this time was about the transportation industry, diving into electric cars, autonomous cars, and all that’s between that. You can guess we did mention Tesla in our conversation. ?

We concluded the conversation on a very optimistic view of the future. Few hours down the line a member of the group shared the image below with the accompanying comment.

Comment: “While the rest of the world is working on Advanced AI, Blockchain, and 5G. Nigeria is innovating Kilishi. You can’t make this shit up lol.”

This comment plus the picture motivated another member of the group to make another comment that connects the dysfunction state of Nigeria with the random conversation we were having about the transportation industry earlier.

“Talking about the auto industry this afternoon got me thinking about how most of the technologies that are being (or will be) deployed in the auto industry in the next decade or two (connectivity, autonomous driving, car-sharing/pooling, electric…) will move the world farther away from crude oil.

Yet, instead of the leaders of my 200+ million people Nation to start making serious plans for the future, they’re innovating kilishi. Issokay…”

Funny but not funny is that comment I must confess because it is both true and despicable.

Well, that motivated me to comment “short Nigeria and you will always win”.

For the uninitiated, “short Nigeria” simply means take a bet that Nigeria will lose its value over time and you will always make a gain.

The evidence of that is not far fetched I continued with my comment with the following lines:

Short Nigerian Naira, you will win

Short Nigeria All Share Index, you will win

Short, Nigerian Government Bonds, you will win

Short Nigeria Governance, you will win

Short anything that reflects Nigeria as a whole, you will win.

This is a rather saddening reality. When on earth can I (anyone) Long Nigeria?

When can I take a bet of prosperity on Nigeria?

Last year when Nigeria clocked 59, I wrote an article titled “Nigeria would have been our pride,” and in the article, I said, “but Nigeria has turned to what we must escape”.

The issue that became of this country is not something I like to much delve into. That is because talking won’t solve much of our problems if it will, we should be the most prosperous country on earth by now. We can talk.

So to my question “when can I take a prosperity bet on Nigeria?” I’m sorry to say this but maybe not in my lifetime.

Excuse me, we are debating killisi innovation when Impossible Meat is innovating with a plant-based substitute for meat that will still give the same nutrient. And you expect me to Long a country like that?

Or like my friend from the group said, “when the world is preoccupied with 5G technology, Artificial Intelligence and the Blockchain” and we are debating Killishi innovation on the floor of the highest legislative house (the Red Chamber). You really want me to take a long position on such people?

Or like my other friend said, “all technologies from IoT to autonomous driving to AI will be a catalyst for the future of transportation as we know it”, yet it doesn’t bother us as people to solve Lagos traffic responsibly and innovatively. No, you won’t want me to take a bet on such a quagmire that Nigeria has become.

The truth about this article

Listen, I started this article not knowing what direction it will take but with the hope that it will take a direction that will favour Nigeria. Unfortunately, it couldn’t. I can’t Long it. At least not in the light of the present and foreseeable future conditions.

Because of the direction it took, I had to change my inconclusive optimistic title to a conclusive title of “Short Nigeria, Long Nigerians.”

Because of the direction it took, my short position is even more grounded.

Isn’t it alarming that nothing that tracks Nigeria can be taken a bet on? Pathetic. ?.

I am not a messenger of doom

Here’s what I believe can be done as an individual of all races and sentiment.

Be the best you can possibly be under whatever circumstance you may find yourself.

Yes, your influence by being the best you could possibly be might seem insignificant on a national level. However, when you realize that Nigeria rejoices today to be associated with Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, Chimamanda Adiche, Charles Soludo, and the likes, you will realize that being your best might just be enough contribution.

You will be proud of yourself, feed your family, and more, and you will become a national pride. Then you will agree with me that your best might just be enough.

Remember Africa as a whole claimed Elon Musk as their own when he launched Falcon 9. That’s how much reaching for your best can contribute to helping the country.

So I’m not a messenger of doom and while I can’t long Nigeria, I can Long Lagos Young Professionals Innovation Club, I can long David Alade (I have faith in me to be my best)?, I can long brilliant and hardworking individual Nigerians that I know, I can Long the great startups that are solving real societal problems.

I have a long list of “Nigeria” that I can long but I am not sure I will Long Nigeria.

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