14042021 -6 Northern govs link up to fight banditry, terrorism

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14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021
9mobile empowers journalists on requisite skills for good reportage
By Juliet Umeh
TO equip journalists with
the requisite skills and
knowledge to boost reportage
and adapt effectively to the
dynamic media landscape,
telecommunication service
provider, 9mobile, held a capacity-building
session recently.
The training session was facilitated
by the Regional Editor
(West Africa), The Conversation Africa,
Adejuwon Soyinka.
Speaking on the theme “Online
Content Optimization - engaging
millennial and Gen-Z audiences with
storytelling,” Adejuwon said that disruption
in news media creates better
opportunities for journalists to leverage
and tell good stories that connect
with new audiences.
According to him, Content optimization
entails making sure that
stories are written and produced
in a relatable way and can reach
the largest possible target audience,
in this case, the Millennials
and the Gen-Z.
He said: “Telling a good and
captivating story means finding
and verifying important or interesting
information and then presenting
it in a way that engages
the audience. The fact remains
that attention span is decreasing
by the day.
“But beyond this also, there is
the question of how the journalist
can match stories with the
right and complimentary platforms.
The truth is that there are
certain kinds of stories meant for
specific platforms, and this is
where multimedia storytelling
comes to play. By incorporating
various types of media, you are
creating a story that readers can
engage with and possibly
share,” he explained.
The Executive Director, Regulatory
and Corporate Affairs,
9mobile, Abdulrahman Ado,
represented by the Public Relations
Lead, 9mobile, Chineze
Amanfo, said that the training
was part of the telco’s initiatives
and ongoing strategic programmes
for media engagement.
By Prince Osuagwu, Hi-
Tech Editor
ESPITE ban, Nigeria
Dstill blazes the trail in
cryptocurrency growth. The
country has become a reference
point in the emerging
markets of Middle East and
Africa when trading on crytocurrency
is discussed.
In the first quarter of this
year, Q1,2021 Nigeria
shocked the world when between
January and March it
posted a peer-to-peer, P2P Bitcoin
trading value worth $99.1
million. Kenya also followed
suit with $38.4 million, although
that was $61 million
less than Nigeria’s. Ghana and
South Africa complete the top
4 with $27.4 million and $25.8
million respectively.
In 2020, Nigeria’s Bitcoin
trading volume was $309.6
million followed by South Africa’s
$98.4 million and Kenya’s
$92.4 million. However,
while Nigeria’s ban on cryptocurrency
is not affecting both
the P2P and general volume of
trading, that of South Africa is
having a negative impact considering
that both Kenya and
Ghana have eclipsed South Africa
in the Q1 2021 trading
report, according to
UsefulTulips.org .
South African government
took a strong position on cryptocurrency
after a $740million
bitcoin scam allegedly coordinated
by Bitcoin trader, Mirror
Trading International,
which is now liquidated.
The effect of that scam
brought about stiff regulations
which eventually drove away
some investors and made the
South African crypto market
lose appeal.
Meanwhile Ghana and Kenya
took a different route and
rather preferred to tweak their
regulations towards benefitting
from where South Africa
slipped.
While Ghana’s Central Bank
launched a regulatory framework
that not strictly controls
but also gives blockchainbased
companies including
cryptocurrency startups priority,
the Central Bank of Kenya
is reported to have proposed
switching to Bitcoin as a reserve
currency. These policies
could have pushed up their
volume of P2P trading in Q1,
2021
However, Nigeria’s case is
described as unique because of
the huge youth population involved
in crypto trading. While
the government banned banks
from processing all crypto-related
transactions, traders,
who are mainly youths, bypass
the restriction.
Now, the country’s monthly
P2P volume is currently valued
at $33.1 million, as against the
$25.8 million per month it
posted in 2020. This represents
a 28 percent increase.
Despite ban, Nigeria leads bitcoin P2P trading
across Africa in Q1 2021
*As Crypto is tipped to solve Nigeria’s unemployment problem
Bitcoin
How crypto market tackles
youth unemployment
Experts say the growth of the
crypto market in the last four
years have benefited mostly
young people, showing why it
should continue, despite ban.
There are more than 20 cryptocurrency
exchanges in Nigeria employing
hundreds of young Nigerians
and some of the exchanges are founded
and run 100 percent by young Nigerians.
This is also as there are
blockchain projects in the country that
have many Nigerians working on
them.
According to data from Austin-based
job search site, there was a 90 percent
increase in blockchain, bitcoin, and
cryptocurrency job postings between
February 2018 and 2019. Job postings
in blockchain categories rose 4,086
percent in the share of job postings per
million from the previous three years.
Young people account for a staggering
42.5 percent of Nigeria’s unemployment
rate as of the fourth quarter
of 2020.
While the total unemployment rate
surged to an unprecedented 33.3 percent
from 27.1 percent in the second
quarter, the highest rate of unemployment
was recorded among those between
the ages of 15 to 24 years with
53.4 percent followed by those aged
between 25 to 34 with 37.0 percent. A
combination of unemployment and
underemployment rates shows that
those aged between 15-24 reported a
combined rate of 73.2 percent, showing
a serious challenge for the agegroup
in securing full-time employment.
The report by the National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS) is the closest indication
that the unemployment problem
in the country has reached a crisis
stage and would require every help it
needs to address the problem.
But while most young Nigerians
may have lost faith in the ability of the
economy to rescue them from widening
poverty, a growing number are
turning to blockchain and the evolving
cryptocurrency ecosystem to build
wealth.
A survey conducted in the UK of affluent
millennials discovered that 20
percent have invested in cryptocurrencies.
The story is similar in Nigeria, a
market that is currently the largest in
peer-to-peer trading in Africa. Out of
74 countries in the Statista Global
Consumer Survey, Nigerians were the
most likely to say they used or owned
cryptocurrency.
Why youths prefer Crypto
According to a crypto trader and
founder SwiftCorp, Victor Asemota
youths stick to crypto mainly because
“Bitcoin, for instance, is not
correlated with capital market fluctuations.
There is much more volatility
these days in equities than
bitcoin. It is a great hedge that provides
near-instant liquidity similar
to cash”.
Another crypto trader on Binance,
Murphy Edafe said: “I like
the volatile nature of cryptocurrency
and with the help of cryptocurrency
trading, I’ve been able to earn
money at home, even much more
than the salary I earn as a teacher.
I have been able to feed my family
and conveniently pay my other
bills”
For these young Nigerians, the
cryptocurrency market is more
than trading bitcoin and other altcoins,
as it has begun to create jobs,
inspire entrepreneurs to create startups,
and spawn hundreds of tokens
with unique functions and development.
A survey by Binance found
that the 51 percent of crypto users
see it as a regular source of income.
A blockchain expert, Lucky
Uwakwe says there are hundreds
of Nigerians willing to learn about
blockchain, many of them, however,
are discouraged by the lack of
well-established training facilities.
Only a few who can afford it, apply
to schools abroad to study.
He advocated a forward-looking
regulatory approach as seen in
countries like the US which made
youths benefit from new jobs in the
blockchain.
Uwakwe who is currently studying
Blockchain online with an institution
abroad says that investors
are willing to come and set up
training in Nigeria but the regulatory
environment does not yet support
such investments.
UBTH: How computerization makes care
delivery seamless
By Juliet Umeh
N all the ways technology
Ihas improved human activities,
none is as important as the
technological advancements in
medicare.
From the invention of X-ray
machines to advances in surgical
practices, technology has
made lives healthier and increased
life expectancies.
In fact, technology experts say
any healthcare facility without
deliberate and concerted efforts
to prioritise the development
and integration of technological
innovations in its clinical and
non-clinical services may not be
able to deliver quality healthcare.
Deputy Chairman, Medical
Advisory Committee, (Training
and Monitoring), of the University
of Benin Teaching Hospital,
UBTH, Dr. Stanley Okugbo said
since 2018 that the hospital created
a separate information and
communication technology, ICT
unit, to coordinate, organise and
oversee all ICT-related issues
like hardware operations, website
redesign, and the hospital’s
health management information
system, health care delivery has
become easier and seamless.
*Data capturing
Okugbo explained that issue of
missing case notes has stopped
in the hospital as the hospital
deploys data capturing machines.
He noted that medical records
services is key to ensuring that
patient flow is seamless and doctor-patient
relationship is rewarding
for both parties.
He said: “The management
implemented interventions that
Health tech equipment
improved medical records efficiency
and effectiveness. Right
from when a patient comes to the
hospital to last point, everything
is paperless. Patients are captured
at this first point of call.
Sometimes, they don’t even know
that their photographs are taken
because it happens very quickly.
When they go to see the doctor,
they wonder how their photographs
were gotten, but that’s
for identification.”
He added that the UBTH computerized
its medical records
functions at GPC, ANC and
MOP clinics.
*Booking system
He also noted that concerted
efforts were made to reduce turnaround-time
for laboratory tests.
Okugbo said: “In general out
patients, we see a 100 and 140
patients now because of the covid-19
pandemic. Otherwise, we
see much more than that but
with the Covid restrictions, we
had to use the booking system
so that if we have more patients,
we rebook them for the next day.
“Emergencies are seen, those
who are not emergencies can
wait till the next day, we get their
data and we book them till the
next day and when they come the
next day, they are quickly attended
to.
*Patient’s Code
Okugbo explained that if a
patient comes in, the patient is
given a slip that has a unique
code and only the patient has the
code.
He said: “So, the doctor enters
the code and it displays the page,
the doctor will see what the nurses
have done and the details of
the patient. Also, when the doctor
generates a prescription, he
has a code too, that is what he
will put not the name of the
drugs.”