BusinessDay 18 Feb 2018

Sunday 18 February 2018 C002D5556
BD SUNDAY
31
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SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE
Truck drivers convert gutters
into toilets in Apapa
Stories by DANIEL OBI
Yes, sanitary conditions
are rapidly deteriorating
in the neighbourhoods
of Nigeria’s
premier port, an
omen announcing attendant
health hazards for its inhabitants.
The hoard of truck and
tanker drivers and their motor
assistants in Apapa area of Lagos
State are contributing to this.
The truck and tanker drivers
are on a simple mission. Their
business is to go to Nigeria’s
busiest sea port in Apapa to haul
containers, petrol, diesel or gas
and deliver to other parts of the
country.
Over 85 per cent of ships carrying
different goods, including
fuel from foreign countries berth
in Lagos. With this large business
at Apapa sea port, trucks
and tankers in different shapes
and sizes sleep on Lagos roads,
attempting to lift goods to the
hinterland. Others are also returning
containers back to the
Wharf. With the bad and narrow
roads associated with Apapa,
these trucks and tankers cause
grid-lock. In fact this has become
chaotic.
Some of these drivers who
want to avoid paying for parking
space have turned all the
roads, highways and bridges
leading to the port into parking
lots.
But what is more amazing is
that these roads which include
M2 through Coconut to Apapa,
Orile-Apapa, Western Avenue,
right from Ojuelegba to Apapa
and Carter Bridge have not only
become parking lots for the tankers
and the trucks but bedrooms,
toilets and bathrooms for the
drivers and the other occupants
in the vehicles.
The drivers and their motor
assistants hardly take their bath
for as long as they park on the
roads. They buy water from
hawkers; wash their faces and
legs early in the morning and
prepare for the crawling journey
to Wharf. For excretion of faeces,
it is done anywhere they find
convenient.
“We look for public toilets
but when we don’t see, we take
our bath on the road early in the
morning”, Ibrahim Raufu who
was by the driver’s side of a
numberless 40-feet truck which
was lifting container to Ojota, in
Lagos told BusinessDay.
“For toilet, we do it in nylon
bag and throw it in a nearby bush,
gutter or in any heap of dustbin”,
Raufu who was relating his life as
a truck driver said while giving
a smile that suggests that they
don’t have alternative.
He said the drivers and their
assistants hardly sleep in the
night or they sleep in turns for
security purposes. “When one
person is sleeping, the other
person will be awake. If you sleep
too much, thieves can remove
your motor battery or other
useful things. So you have to be
watchful.”
Asked why his truck does not
have number plate, Raufu said
officials at the Wharf removed
it to force them to return the
empty containers. He put the
cost of lifting 40-feet container
from the Wharf to Ojota or Ikeja
at N200,000.
For Joshua, who is a long distance
driver said driving trailer
is not done by one person.
They alternate each time one
driver is tired. He corroborated
Raufu’s comment that where
there is no public toilet “we find
solution to it”. But while traveling
on the highway, outside
Lagos, they can stop to ease
themselves in any bush, he said.
Apart from logistics and
other challenges in quick loading
of trucks and tankers that
come from various states to
the ports, the lockdown on
Apapa road is worsened by
the current re-construction of
some major roads and other minor
roads which necessitated
the closure of some roads in
Apapa.
Presently, some of the tankers
now go through streets such as
Ajegunle to get to Apapa. This
has equally become frustrating
to residents in those areas
including Ijora as some of the
trucks have parked for a long
time in those areas, constituting
nuisance on the streets.
Obviously backed by powerful
individuals who are owners
of the trucks, the truck drivers
are daring, intimidating anyone
including police and other traffic
officials who dare to challenge
them. It takes the force
and the wielding of guns and
‘koboko’ (canes) by the army
and Navy to control them. The
consequence of the weight of
the trucks and tankers on the
bridges is yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, as long as the
grid-lock continues on the roads
leading to Apapa, the gutters and
the dustbin heaps will serve as
toilets for the truck drivers.
AI: LG to adopt next-generation technologies in business
…International debut of CLOi Robot sparks interest
Globally, LG said it aims
to adopt next-generation
technologies like
AI, machine learning,
big data and more in business and
management practices whilst
expanding collaborative efforts
with other organizations. “LG’s
exclusive deep learning-based
AI technology is in line with the
company’s efforts to speed up
the release of new products with
the latest and most innovative
technology”.
While keeping up the momentum
within the AI led technology
and products, LG’s CLOi Robot
which made its debut appearance
at the recently concluded
LG MEA Innofest 2018 drew
spurring interest from attendees
with high excitement and anticipations,
LG said.
LG Electronics also announced
the creation of ThinQ
brand to identify all of its 2018
home appliances, consumer
electronics and services that
utilize artificial intelligence.
LG ThinQ products and services
will all have the ability
to employ deep learning and
communicate with one another,
utilizing a variety of AI technologies
from other partners as
well as LG’s own AI technology,
DeepThinQ, the multinational
company said.
According to a recent report
by IDC, the MEA spending on
cognitive and AI Systems is expected
to pass $ 114 million by
2021, LG said in a statment.
“Furthermore, according to
the 2017 World Economic Forum’s
Global Shaper Survey,
young people in the Middle East
and North Africa expect the
Fourth Industrial Revolution to
have a significant impact on their
working and daily lives, while
many are comfortable about living
in a future where robots work
and exist alongside humans”.
“The advancements in AI and
robotics are expected to transform
lifestyles and industries
around the world, ultimately
improving humankind’s experiences
from reducing repetitive
tasks at home or work to even
eliminating age-old malignant
practices which is why significant
investments will be made in
this area,’ said Kevin Cha, President
LG Electronics Middle East
& Africa, in the statment.
“We are confident that as the
years progress, consumers in the
region will see significant value
brought to their lives by our AI
enabled electronics and home
appliances making it extremely
fruitful for both as well as our
retail and distribution partners”,
he added.
The purpose of the ThinQ
brand is to highlight that LG
intelligent products are always
thinking of you in order to make
your life better. With AI being at
the next frontier in technology,
LG is working towards making
AI more approachable and less
intimidating, he said.
DeepThinQ 1.0 was developed
last year with the establishment
of LG’s Artificial Intelligence
Lab in Korea to accelerate
research into AI. The platform
enables easy integration of AI
into a wider range of products,
allowing LG product developers
to apply deep-learning technologies
to future products. In line
with the open strategy of its
recently announced AI brand
ThinQ, LG products developed
with DeepThinQ - from mobile
devices to home appliances - will
deliver a comprehensive user
experience by linking a host of
technologies and solutions to
its state-of-the-art AI platform.
“LG is committed to enhancing
its portfolio of products with
AI,” added Derek Sim, Marketing
Director, LG Electronics, Middle
East & Africa. “Globally our
mission has always been to add
value to people’s lives and we
strongly believe that investing
in emerging technologies will
significantly contribute to this
goal. We are excited about what
the future will bring and we look
forward to how we can assist our
valued customers become even
more productive and efficient in
their daily lives.”