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Folasewa Olatunde, DRILL Pioneer Follow at Paradigm Initiative EHIME ALEX, LagosFolasewa Olatunde, a second-year doctoral student at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA, has been selected as the pioneer fellow for the newly introduced Digital Rights and Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL) at Paradigm Initiative.Announcing the selection in a statement on Tuesday, Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative said, We are pleased to announce the selection of Folasewa Olatunde, and were also excited about the quality of applications the fellowship, though just starting, attracted.There are both enormous challenges and opportunities for realizing the ambitious task of creating an inclusive, healthy, safe and open Internet in the coming decade for all Africans and we hope this fellowship will offer a space for big thinking, evaluation of digital rights and digital inclusion programs, and future-proofing of ecosystem activities, he added.Digital Rights and Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL) is Paradigm Initiatives project to host innovative learning around digital rights and inclusion in Africa.Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, the learning lab serves as a space for both practice and reflection, aimed to involve and connect different stakeholders and create dialogue amongst researchers, social innovators, policymakers and actors, the private sector, as well as civil society. According to the statement, learning activities would take place at the lab in order to evolve new thinking on digital rights and inclusion strategy for Africa.Also noting that there are a variety of activities to be under taken, including but not limited to, focused future-facing research; presentations; ecosystem meetings and discussions focused on digital rights and/or inclusion hosted within the ecosystem; and general communication about the labs activities.Meanwhile, the Digital Rights and Inclusion Media Fellowship, another Paradigm Initiative project, has attracted 116 applications from 19 countries, according to the statement released by Paradigm Initiative, a social enterprise working on digital rights and inclusion in Africa.The pioneer Digital Rights and Inclusion Learning Lab fellow, Folasewa Olatunde, is a second-year doctoral student at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, studying Communication Rhetoric and Digital Media. She is a communication and digital media practitioner, researcher and instructor. She is interested in researching the intersections of the internet, social media and mobile phones and other digital technologies in (not) empowering the global south.Her current research focuses on evaluating informal and formal basic digital skills interventions in Nigeria and how their functions can be improved. Fola believes that more social science research should be policy-driven. She is passionate about how Nigerians across different age groups can (continue to) learn to use digital technologies to improve their socio-economic conditions.

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi ll, audacious, courageous, fearless and outspoken, is not a happy man, and he was not afraid to say so.Sanusi was not happy, not only with the existing state of affairs in North, but also with leaders in the North who, he accused of abandoning their people in penury and poverty.He was not happy because, though the North had held on to power for too long, yet about 87 percent of poverty in Nigeria had remained in the North.Speaking at the 60th birthday party organized for Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El Rufai, Sanusi emphatically stated that if the North does not change by tackling some of its social problems, it will destroy itself.While bemoaning the rate of poverty in Northern Nigeria, the Emir lamented: You cant be happy with millions of Northern children out of school. You cant be happy with nine states in the North contributing almost 50 percent of the entire malnutrition burden in the country.You cant be happy with the drug problem; you cant be happy with the Boko Haram problem. You cant be happy with political thuggery. You cant be happy with all the issues; the Almajiri problem that we have.We have been saying this for 20 to 30 years. If the North does not change, the North will destroy itself. The country is moving on. Quota system that everybody talks about must have a sunset clause, he stated.Emir Sanusi has told truth to power. He did not mince words. He was forthright, honest. Since Nigerian independence in 1960, the North has produced more Heads of State, and has also ruled the country for an aggregate of more than 42 years, leaving the entire South to grapple with the remaining 18 years.From Tafawa Balewa, to Yakubu Gowon, to Murtala Muhammed, to Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Umaru YarAdua and Muhammadu Buhari again, all Northerners, they have collectively ruled the country for 42 years, and still continuing.But what did the North do with the political power in their hands? What did they do for Nigeria, and even for their own people, in particular, with the political power they grabbed? Do they grab political power just for its own sake, and to feather their nests? The North has more State Governors, more Local Government Chairmen, more Senators, more Members of the House of Representatives, more Ministers, more Ambassadors, more Heads of government agencies, etc.The richest man in Africa is from the North. The North also has more religious men, men and women who go on annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, using taxpayers money.Conversely, as Emir Sanusi has now told us, the North has more poor people, more malnourished children, more out of school children, more criminals: Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, political thugs, and perhaps, more looters of government treasury, etc. What an irony!The North has nobody to blame for the level of poverty in their area. They have no excuse to give to anybody, but to blame themselves, for their incompetence and for their selfishness. Their leaders merely grab power to better themselves, their families, and their cronies.For the past twenty years they have been telling us about the Abacha loot, which they alleged, the man carted away from the Nigerian treasury and deposited into various banks in Europe and America. Had Abacha used even a fraction of this money in his own local government area, it would have made a lot of difference in the lives of his people. But he preferred to keep the money for himself, his family, and for his childrens children, those yet unborn.Perhaps, Abacha might not have been the only Nigerian President who looted or who stole government money. But he has become the only hief, because he is is dead!Unfortunately, those who suffer most from the effects of the misrule or incompetence of their leaders, do not know that they are suffering. Like Platos prisoners in the cave, they continue to see everything as normal. They will even vent their spleen on anybody who attempts to bring them out from the cave, who tries to liberate them.When former President Goodluck Jonathan built Almajiri schools in different parts of Northern Nigeria, the North saw this as abnormal and rejected it. Like Platos prisoners, they preferred to remain in the dark. Some leaders in the North even organized some miscreants to stone Goodluck Jonathan and his campaign team.We hope that Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II, was not among those Northern leaders who organized miscreants to stone Jonathan, who built Almajiri schools, in his desire to liberate the North from poverty and ignorance.

Lady Kitty Spencer By Israel HayomLady Kitty Spencer, the niece of the late Princess Diana of Wales, is converting to Judaism to marry Jewish fashion tycoon Michael Lewis.It will be the second marriage for Lewis, a South Africa native whose fortune is estimated at about $100 million. Spencer is a 29-year-old model, Lewis is 61, five years older than Spencers father, Earl. It is not known to which branch of Judaism Spencer is converting, Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, the British Sunday Times reported. The report cited friends of the couple as saying that Spencer is taking religious instruction in preparation for the marriage. The two have also been witnessed in London attending synagogue together.According to the British, Lewis is said to have married his first wife, with whom he has three adult children, in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony in 1985.Spencers cousin, Prince William, is second in line to the throne of England and is the future supreme governor of the Church of England.

Participants at Paradigm Initiative digital rights workshop in Uyo EHIME ALEX, LagosParadigm Initiative, in partnership with Policy Alert and other local stakeholders, has hosted a digital rights workshop in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.According to a statement on Tuesday, the workshop was focused on understanding and navigating the policy and regulatory landscape related to digital rights and its intersection with other subjects such as security, media, digital identity, business, as well as learning advocacy and engagement strategies for those who work or are interested in promoting and defending human rights online in Africa.Speaking, Adeboye Adegoke, Paradigm Initiatives Digital RightsProgram Manager, said, There is a growing interest in conversation around Digital Rights across Nigeria. Many citizens are curious about what seems to be an unending desire by the political class to restrict the digital space. We have seen and heard about many cases of arrests of Journalists and citizens for expressions online in the Southern part of Nigeria and this requires a community response. This is why we have come to build the capacity of local actors in the 11 States of the South-East and South-South Nigeria, to build competency around civil society response to digital rights violations and learn useful advocacy strategies for specific contexts Adeboye added.Discussions at the workshop would help to explore topical issues around privacy and surveillance, digital identity, multistakeholder approach to digital policy, data protection, Internet shutdowns, content takedowns, freedom of expression online, digital security amongst others.The two-day workshop came at a time the government is rolling out legislation such as the hate speech bill and the social media bill.It was aimed at empowering participants with the understanding of digital policies and how they affect human rights.Participants from the South South and South East regions of Nigeria (Abia, Akwa Ibom Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Rivers State) will also learn about various actors with the policy landscape.

Sleeping with your phone near you can be harmful for your body functions and tend to limit the production of many significant hormones.Place the phone several feet away from your bed if youre not going to switch it off.It has become a trend, especially for young people to sleep with their phones next to them. And most times, beneath the pillow, seems to be the ideal spot to keep the phone as it makes it easy to reach when it rings.However, what is unknown to a lot of people is that sleeping with your phone close to you can be hazardous to your health.Smartphones have been proven to emit dangerous radiation which causes an alteration in the system of certain self regulating the process, such as our biological clock or cardiac rhythm.Owing to this, having our cell phone near us while we sleep can lead to nightmares, inability to sleep, waking up several times at night, etc.As a matter of fact, it can even damage your brain.Furthermore, sleeping with your phone near you can be harmful to your body functions and tend to limit the production of many significant hormones that are essential for your regular routine.As affirmed by World Health Organization: Electronic devices, in general, are bad for the body because they produce toxic effects that can increase the chances of developing cancer.And to validate this claim, an Australia study has shown that there is an important relationship between the use of smartphones and sterility in men, as well as reduced sperm quality.Read on to see some health implications of having your cell phone close to you while you sleep.1. It could set your pillow on fireA good number of cell phone users are so attached to their phones that they sleep with them even under their pillow. The result of this habit has led to recorded incidences of pillows being set ablaze. Most popular of this incidence is the July 2014 teen from Texas who woke up to a burning smell. Her sheet and mattress have been scorched by her Samsung Galaxy S4, which was under her pillow.It is, therefore, advisable to shut down the transceiver of your cell phone by keeping it on airplane mode while you sleep. Or better still; turn it off because cell phones pump out electromagnetic radiation whenever theyre on.N/BMost device batteries display a message that there is a risk of fire if kept under bedding. Therefore, it is advisable to turn it off for your own safety.2. It puts our health at risk due to emitted radiationGenerally, mobile phones emit radiation due to transmission signal around 900MHz. Owing to this, keeping cell phones close to the head for prolonged periods can lead to headaches, muscle pains, and other complicated health issues.Although people tend to keep their phones close to them while they sleep for different reasons, it is, however, better to be safe than sorry.3. It could prevent you from sleepingLED screens, which includes cell phones, tablets, TVs and other gadgets, give off blue light; a type that studies have suggested to impede the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and disrupt our circadian rhythms.Although the reason for this is yet unknown, it may be because blue light emits wavelengths similar to daylight, which can deceive our bodies to think that its daytime, at any time.It is, therefore, advisable to shut down all electronics two hours before bedtime. And if possible, keep phones and laptops in another room while you sleep.pulse.ng

EHIME ALEX, LagosThe Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has regarded as completely FALSE the speculation making the rounds on the social media that coronavirus can be transmitted through broiler chickens.The NCDC, in a statement to NATIONAL ACCORD on Tuesday, while dismissing the rumour, called on the Nigerian public to ignore the hearsay and discourage its spread.It said, The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is aware of a rumour being shared on social media, that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spread through broiler chickens.The NCDC can confirm that this is completely FALSE. The public is advised to disregard this rumour and discourage further spread. The NCDC further knocked the rumour stating that, Scientists are working on identifying the animal source of this new virus. Currently, there is no known link between the virus and broiler chickens.Meanwhile, the speculation has started after Indias poultry industry was reported to has lost 13 billion rupees ($182 million) in three weeks as a result of the rumour that chickens are a cause of the spread of coronavirus.The coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, leaving at least 1,868 people died, while at least 72,436 infected, in mainland China, according to recent official figures.While hundreds of cases have been confirmed elsewhere, with the virus being reported in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region as well as Europe, North America, the Middle East, only Egypt in Africa has one case been confirmed, according to Egypts health ministry report of February 14.

Kem Senou Pavel Daryl is the first African to contract the virus in China When Kem Senou Pavel Daryl, a 21-year-old Cameroonian student living in the Chinese city of Jingzhou, contracted the coronavirus he had no intention of leaving China, even if that were possible.No matter what happens I dont want to take the sickness back to Africa, he said from his university dormitory, where he is now under a 14-day quarantine.He was suffering from a fever, a dry cough, and flu-like symptoms.When he became ill he thought of his time as a child in Cameroon when he contracted malaria. He feared the worse.When I was going to the hospital for the first time I was thinking about my death and how I thought it was going to happen, he said.For 13 days he remained in isolation in a local Chinese hospital. He was treated with antibiotics and drugs typically used to treat HIV patients. After two weeks of care he began to show signs of recovery. The CT scan showed no trace of the illness. He became the first African person known to be infected with the deadly coronavirus and the first to recover. His medical care was covered by the Chinese state.Egypt has become the first country in Africa to confirm a case of the coronavirus. Health professionals warn that countries with weaker health systems may struggle to cope with a potential outbreak of the illness, which has led to more than 1,770 deaths and infected more than 72,000 people, mostly in China.I dont want to go home before finishing studying. I think there is no need to return home because all hospital fees were taken care of by the Chinese government, says Mr Senou.bbc.com

Coronavirus test The World Health Organisation (WHO) says based on evidences available on Coronavirus (COVID-19), it has developed documents providing guidance for management of public health events at points of entry and during mass gathering.WHO stated this on its official twitter handle at @WHO, in which the organisation urged governments to step up their efforts in preparing for the virus.According to figures released by Chinese National Health Commission, a total of 79 new confirmed cases were reported on Tuesday outside Hubei, a 14th consecutive day drop since Feb. 3.Meanwhile, a total of 890 new cases have been reported outside Hubei on Feb. 3.The commission said it has received reports of 1,886 new confirmed cases on Monday from 31 provincial level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, including 1,807 in Hube.In a statement, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: It is impossible to predict which direction this epidemic will take.The UN agency was encouraged that there has not yet been widespread community transmission of the virus.WHO was also encouraged that the global research community has come together to identify and accelerate the most urgent research needs for diagnosis, treatments and vaccines.A team of international experts is now on ground in China, working closely with Chinese counterparts to understand the outbreak and inform the next steps in the global response. According to him, WHO has classified COVID-19, a global health threat.Ghebreyesus said the steps China has taken to contain the outbreak at its source appeared to have bought the world time, but we dont know how much time.The WHO chief said the organisations encouragement was tempered by several key concerns, including the rising number of cases in China, particularly the number of health workers that have been infected.The lack of urgency in funding the response from the international community; the levels of rumours and misinformation hampering the response; and the potential havoc the virus could wreak in countries with weaker health systems.The outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 underscore once again the vital importance for all countries to invest in preparedness and not panic, he said.He recalls that two years ago, WHO and the World Bank founded the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an independent body to assess the state of the worlds readiness for a pandemic.He said in 2019, the board had published its first report which concluded that the world remains badly prepared.For too long, the world has operated on a cycle of panic and neglect. We throw money at an outbreak, and when its over, we forget about it and do nothing to prevent the next one.This is frankly difficult to understand and dangerously short-sighted, warned Ghebreyesus. (NAN)

Supreme-Court-Abuja The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the application filed by former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha to March 2, 2020.Ihedioha, UzodinmaMr Ihedioha approached the apex court with an application to reverse itself on the judgement sacking him from office as governor. The Supreme Court had fixed today to hear the appeal filed by Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one month after it sacked him on January 14 and declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Hope Uzodinma, as the duly elected governor of Imo State.At the hearing today, lawyer to Mr Ihedioha, Mr Kanu Agabi, filed an application stating that he needs a little time to file some processes before the Court.Lawyers to Governor Hope Uzodinma and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not oppose the application.The seven-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed, after listening to all the parties, adjourned the hearing to March 2, 2020. CHANNELS TV.

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker, House of Rep Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has explained that constitutional amendment is needed before Nigerians in diaspora can be allowed to vote.Gbajabiamila said this at the Diaspora Voting Stakeholders Workshop in Abuja.He said that millions of Nigerians, who resided outside the country, had as much a stake in the present and future of Nigeria as those who lived in the country.Nigerians abroad use their resources to develop businesses and support family members here at home; they invest in their communities and support national development, so it is not strange that they are seeking to participate in the electoral process.But, before allowing diaspora voting, there is a need to plan well by first understanding the nuances, intricacies and the hurdles in front, before considering diaspora voting if Nigeria will get it right.I was the principal officer when this bill came up in the 7th assembly and I shut the Nigeria in diaspora voting bill down.I did that for reasons the house came to understand; the language of the constitution is black and white and it states that you can only vote if you are resident in Nigeria.So, bringing a bill for diaspora voting at that time was a wrong move because you cannot use a bill to amend the constitution and it was on that basis that we could not take that bill.I am not proud of it but it was a necessity and someone had to take the responsibility; I am for diaspora voting, but all I am saying is that we have to do it right, so for that bill to stand, the constitution has to be amended first, he said.Gbajabiamila said that there was need to check if Nigeria was ready for diaspora voting because the elections conducted here come with a lot of issues and many litigation, afterward.Our elections here are not yet perfect, so how do we deal with diaspora voting? here, we consistently have litigation after elections, so how do we deal with that in diaspora voting?There are issues with diaspora voting, for instance, which of the elections will they participate in and which court will they eventually go to in case of litigation after elections? The topic of diaspora voting has, within a short period of time, become a matter of intense public debate; it causes us to confront the simple, unavoidable reality that this is a subject matter for which we must find resolution within the shortest possible time, he said.Gbajabiamila said that the workshop provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to jointly consider the value of the proposals being currently offered and develop therefrom, a workable plan of action for policy makers and the general public.Dr Ajibola Bashiru, Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora, said that the agenda of the 9th assembly was to work for Nigerians but that the issue of diaspora voting should be a consensus with Nigerians.Bashiru said that there was need to look at what the constitution said about such bills before it would be passed, marking out all the intricate parts to be taken into consideration.Earlier, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was represented by Dr Mohammed Lecky, National Commissioner of INEC, said that the commission was ready for diaspora voting.Yakubu, however, said that legislative backing remained a challenge.We cannot have inclusiveness without carrying every Nigerian, wherever he or she may be, along in the electoral process; we need to bring our diasporas into the voting system because they matter. This is a subject matter in which the commission has shown a great deal of interest; we have studied it very carefully and positioned ourselves to do the needful at the appropriate time. We are ready, the INEC chairman said.Yakubu said that the commission had a wide range of first hand knowledge on how other election management bodies handled issues of diaspora voting, adding that there was no reason why Nigeria should not practice diaspora voting.He said that the commission was convinced that diaspora voting was the way to go but hurdles like the election to allow diasporas participate in, logistics, funding, legislation among others still needed to be addressed.(NAN)