By Jola-Michael Samson

Flooding is a seasonal enemy of the people in both the rural and the urban areas.  It is expected to be controlled by a well-planned drainage network to channel the flow of water to the nearest river or larger drainages.

Most construction engineers have failed to deliver drainages that serve their purposes adequately. Whenever there is heavy rainfall, it is expected that as water flows in to the drainages, it finds the path that was initially planned for it by the construction engineers. But it is obvious that most of our drainages warehouse the water when we do expect that they are pipelines to get the ecosystems dry.

Diverse topography is one of the major drawbacks in the construction of drainages that will effectively serve their purposes.

Rainy season is mostly dreaded by people in the urban space because of flooding which always results in loss of valuable properties and sometimes lives.

We can permanently resolve this seasonal menace through Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This Idea will demand that our drainages are rebuilt in line with the specifications. Although it may be expensive to build but we would not need to build another in same place in the near future.

It can at first be piloted in sophisticated areas in Lagos, Nigeria, where there institutions that can collectively afford the expenses involved without waiting for the government.

The idea involves the following:

1. Create a central unit for Drainage Management.
2. Construct padded drainages with laid automated platform triggered by water sensor which will be raised to create slope for water to flow in a set direction at intervals.
3. Ensure Drainage network that is monitored remotely through installed cameras.
4. Note the direction to which the water will flow; which must be toward the closest larger drainage or a river.
5. The in-built platform should also be made in way that it can be controlled remotely from the central unit to focus attention of slope creation to areas with urgent attention, to quickly evacuate water from the area during raining period.
6. The in-built platform should be created to have solid waste and sand remover components and evacuating them outside the drainage at distance interval repeatedly.

I am not an engineer but I have this picture in my mind, and I believe it is achievable.

Our major problems as human beings, most especially as Nigerians, have remained with us, because we do not nurture our ideas and co-ordinate our innovations adequately.

By Oko Ebuka

With the trending report released by CNN on the kidnapping of ten Turkish sailors on the early hours of Monday off the coast of Nigeria’s inland waterways, have poised a big rhetorical question concerning the efficacy of the Nigerian Coastal Guards toward achieving a clear coastal terrain and predominantly reduce the criminal activities on-going in the Nigerian waters.

I vividly recall the Facebook post in 2009 on the proposed bill to provide for the establishment of the Nigerian coast guard, which shall be charged with the responsibility among other things to enforce or assist in the enforcement of all applicable federal laws on, under and over the high sea and water subject to the jurisdiction of the federal republic of Nigeria; and shall maintain a state of readiness to function as a specialized service in the navy in time of war; for related purposes. The section 2 (1) (m) of the proposed bill succinctly approved the suppression of destructive and terrorist activities occurring in the maritime zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the authorized coastal guards.

From my own point of view, this bill have a way of reducing the burden practically laid on the Nigerian Navy and equally shift the responsibility paradigm in order to have a definite approach to the issues of maritime security surrounding the entire Gulf of Guinea.

But in my greatest dismay however, the bill “Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps Bill, 2018 (HB.1331)” has just had its first reading in the floor of the Federal House of Representatives, on Wednesday, 21 February, 2018 as presented by Hon. Daniel Reyenieju of the defunct 8^th National Assembly. This simply codifies that the prayer won’t be earnestly answered even though the need is highly felt in the survival and sustainability of the blue economy.

Another recent report released this month from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a non-profit organization devoted to fighting maritime crime, has called the Gulf of Guinea a “world piracy hotspot,” saying that the “seas around West Africa remain the world’s most dangerous for piracy.” (CNN, 2019)

The statistical report also showed that 73% of all kidnappings happened at sea and 92% of hostage-takings took place in the Gulf of Guinea — off the coasts of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon — from January to June this year.

The creation of the coastal guards with legal backup will elucidate their roles in safeguarding the territorial waters; improve the dwindling economic activities, open doors for transportation of goods and services through massive job creation both directly and indirectly.

No wonder the words of Captain Alfred Oluwasheyi keep ringing in my head as he hammered on the effectiveness of coastal guards in the reduction of security issues and other maritime misdemeanors which are farfetched if the guards are strategically positioned on the inland water coasts.

On the radar of employment, Captain Alfred boldly said that the establishment of the coast guard alone will create not less than 50,000 jobs without any cost to the government which indirectly, will create another 3 million indirect jobs for the teeming unemployed youths when the water is obviously secured.

Imagine if Nigeria has coast guards that supposed to take care of inland waters because normally the Nigerian navy job is to take care of the territorial waters, it will boom economy, bring back trust of the sailors back to the creek and place Nigerian seas on the map of a secured ocean.

The federal government, especially the existing 9^th National Assembly should facilitate the legislative procedures for the establishment of this Act which I strongly believe will see the imprint of the Executive Arm under the auspices of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has shown his steadfastness in improving the Nigerian economic activities as regard to the blue economy especially as he recently assented to the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2019, as proposed by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

By Dipo Olaitan

In the last few weeks, I had experienced similar challenges but had encountered different results. This has made me to really ask myself a question like, “why different results?” (The latter result was better than the former).

You might say the difference was because I have learnt a lesson from my previous mistakes. That’s true, I won’t dispute that fact. But the difference in result was not really based on a different approach but a different mindset and attitude in facing the problem.

This has made me want to know how I can continue to have this mindset, and attitude in tackling problems. Yes, though I might not be able to determine the absolute outcome of the problem, but I can be able to shape the outcome.

Have you ever experienced an opportunity you and a person had, but that person was able to achieve a better result than you, even under a tougher condition than yours.

During these periods, the person had always shown a positive mental attitude, and it had looked like to you this person has everything working well for him or her, not until they shared their stories, on how they achieved the success. It was then you would realize you had a better advantage than them. This brings us to what we call being “Mentally Tough “.

According to Gucciardi, Gordon & Dimmock,  “To be mentally tough is a collection of values, attitudes, behaviors and emotions that enable you persevere and overcome any obstacle, adversity, or pressure experienced but also to maintain concentration and motivation when things are going well to consistently achieve your goals”.

Being mentally tough also involves the ability to be accountable and responsible in the face of adversity, irrespective of the circumstances.

Life does not give us what we demand or expect; we need the right attitude and mindset to get the best out of life. Being “mentally tough” will help us see the positive things about life, and help us to have the right attitude in the face of adversity.