In Commemoration of World Toilet Day; 6 in 10 Nigerians Still Practice Open Defecation – Report

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In Commemoration of World Toilet Day; 6 in 10 Nigerians Still Practice Open Defecation – Report

Abuja, Nigeria. November 20th, 2019 – NOIPolls joins the world to commemorate the World Toilet Day (WTD) which was observed on the 19th of November, 2019. The aim of the annual event is to raise awareness of the crucial role that sanitation plays in reducing disease and creating healthier communities across the world. According to the  World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about 4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation, three billion lack basic handwashing facilities and 673 million still practise open defecation. This sanitation crisis means that untreated human waste is spreading diseases into water supplies and the food chain for billions of people hence, estimated to cause 432,000 diarrhoea deaths yearly. Nigeria is not an exception as the data report from UNICEF indicates that Nigeria has been ranked second among countries practising open defecation globally.

Against this background, NOIPolls in collaboration with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) conducted a  public opinion poll on access to sanitation facilities in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is the country’s national public health institute, with the mandate to lead the preparedness, detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. The aim of NCDC is to protect the health of Nigerians through evidence-based prevention, integrated disease surveillance and response activities, using a one health approach,  guided by research and led by a skilled workforce.

The poll highlighted the perceptions of Nigerians regarding access to sanitation facilities, prevalence and practice of open defecation as well as suggestions on how the issue can be addressed. The poll revealed that most Nigerians (76  percent) acknowledged that access to sanitation facility is a challenge. When asked of the sanitation facility respondents use, majority of the respondents (83 percent) mentioned private toilet connected to the private septic tank,  14 percent said pit latrine and 2 percent stated open defecation amongst other facilities.

In terms of prevalence, 80 of Nigerians believe that the issue of open defecation is prevalent across the country.  With regards to practice, sadly, 63 percent of Nigerians disclosed that they have seen people practising open defecation in their respective locality and of this proportion, 52 percent stated that they always see people practising open defecation in their locality. More findings showed that Nigerians are aware of the dangers associated with open defecation as mentioned by 82 percent of the respondents and the top three dangers cited are diarrhoea (40 percent),  typhoid (22 percent) and cholera (13 percent).

To effectively tackle this awful culture, there should be a concerted effort to provide toilets in public places as recommended by 40 percent of Nigerians so that people would not have recourse to relieving themselves in the open. Government agencies, town planners and other stakeholders responsible for the environment should ensure that toilets are mandated for every household when putting up a structure as suggested by 28 percent of Nigerians.

These are the key findings from the Access to Sanitation Facility Poll conducted by NOIPolls in collaboration with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the week commencing November 4th, 2019.

World Toilet Day is an annual campaign that seeks to draw the attention of the world to the challenges of

sanitation experienced by people globally. It is also a day which seeks to inspire the world to tackle the global sanitation crisis and to also help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 which promises sanitation for all by the year 2030. The theme for this year is Leaving no one behind which is a deliberate step in the right direction to ensure that no one is left behind in the sanitation issues that affect a large proportion of the world’s population.  More so, according to statistics, there is an estimated 4.2 billion people living without safely managed sanitation and about 673 million people around the world practise open defecation.

In Nigeria, more than 70,000 children under five years die from diarrhoea disease as a result of unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation condition every year. Also, about 47 million Nigerians practise open defecation according to previous statistics obtained. With regards to these alarming figures, the federal government declared a state of emergency in water, sanitation and hygiene in November 2018 in a bid to reverse the trend. This was swiftly  followed by the launching of a national campaign – clean Nigeria: use the toilet, which was launched in April 2019.5 In  view of this escalating and mind-boggling statistics, and in commemoration of the day, NOIPolls in collaboration with  Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) conducted a poll to gauge the opinion of Nigerians regarding access to  sanitation facilities and open defecation in the country.

DOWNLOAD THE OPEN DEFECATION POLL RESULT HERE

Advanced Persistent Threats In 2020: Abuse Of Personal Information And More Sophisticated Attacks Are Coming

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Advanced Persistent Threats In 2020: Abuse Of Personal Information And More Sophisticated Attacks Are Coming

Kaspersky researchers have shared their vision on Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) in 2020, pointing out how the landscape of targeted attacks will change in the coming months. The overall trend shows that threats will grow in sophistication and become more targeted, diversifying under the influence of external factors, such as development and propagation of machine learning, technologies for deepfakes development, or tensions around trade routes between Asia and Europe.

The predictions were developed based on the changes that the Global Research and Analysis Team witnessed over 2019 to support the cybersecurity community with some guidelines and insights. The latter, along with a series of industry and technology threat predictions, will help to prepare for the challenges that lie in the coming 12 months.

The abuse of personal information: from deep fakes to DNA leaks

After a number of personal data leaks that happened in the past years, the number of personal details available made it easier for attackers to perform targeted attacks, based on victims leaked info. The bar has been raised, and in 2020 the threat actors will dive deeper, hunting for more sensitive leaks, such as biometric data.

The researchers pointed out a number of key technologies, which could lure victims of personal data abuse in the attackers’ traps, among them is publicly discussed the video and audio Deep Fakes that can be automated and support profiling and creation of scams and social engineering schemes.

Other targeted threat predictions for 2020 include:

False flag attacks reach a whole new level. This will develop further, with threat actors seeking not only to avoid attribution but also to actively lay the blame on someone else. Commodity malware, scripts, publicly available security tools or administrator software, mixed with a couple of false flags, where security researchers are hungry for any small clue, might be enough to divert authorship to someone else.

Ransomware shifts toward targeted threats. A potential twist might be that, instead of making files unrecoverable, threat actors will threaten to publish data that they have stolen from the victim company.

New banking regulations in the EU open new attack vectors. As banks will be required to open their infrastructure and data to third parties who wish to provide services to bank customers, it is likely that attackers will seek to abuse these new mechanisms with new fraudulent schemes.

More infrastructure attacks and attacks against non-PC targets. Determined threat actors have, for some time, been extending their toolsets beyond Windows, and even beyond PC systems, VPNFilter and Slingshot, for example, targeted networking hardware.

Cyber attacks focus on trade routes between Asia and Europe. There are several ways this could play out. They include a growth in political espionage as governments seek to secure their interests at home and abroad. It is likely to extend also to technological espionage in situations of potential or real economic crisis and resulting instability.

New interception capabilities and data exfiltration methods. Use of supply chains will continue to be one of the most difficult delivery methods to address. It is likely that attackers will continue to expand this method through manipulated software containers, for example, and abuse of packages and libraries.

Mobile APTs develop faster. There are no good reasons to think this will stop any time soon. However, due to the increased attention given to this subject by the security community, we believe the number of attacks being identified and analysed in detail will also increase.

Personal information abuse grows, armed with AI. It is very similar to some of the techniques discussed for driving election advertisements through social media. This technology is already in use and it is just a matter of time before some attackers take advantage of it.

“The future holds so many possibilities that there are likely to be things that are not included in our predictions. The extent and complexity of the environments in which attacks play out offer so many possibilities. In addition, no single threat research team has complete visibility of the operations of APT threat actors. We will continue to try and anticipate the activities of APT groups and understand the methods they employ while providing insights into their campaigns and the impact they have,” says Vicente Diaz, a security researcher at Kaspersky.

The predictions have been developed thanks to Kaspersky threat intelligence services from around the world. On November 20, Kaspersky GReAT researchers will also share their predictions for upcoming changes in the world of major threat actors in 2020.

The full list of Kaspersky Threat Predictions for 2020 is available on Securelist.com.

AFEX Cocoa Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

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AFEX Cocoa Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

Insights on the commodity markets in Nigeria are critical as we enter into the 2019/2020 season. All key crops traded on AFEX Commodities Exchange are being considered in view of the demand and supply dynamics as well as a look into possible proactive measures that investors can take. Read below for the AFEX Cocoa outlook for the 2019/2020 season in Nigeria.

Cocoa Outlook Supply-Side Dynamics

The rains for the season have been described as excessive and could impact quantity and quality of yield for the season. Also, the main crop flowering window is extended, delaying the harvest in most parts – extending into February 2020.

Some volumes are, however, already being transacted in the market with a number of aggregators utilizing mechanical dryers to achieve acceptable moisture levels. We expect the rains to fully come to a halt in the coming weeks and full steam aggregation to commence from November 2019, with stable moisture content levels of 8% and below.

With the reports of high incidence of black pod disease in Ghana and the introduction of the cocoa price floor by Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana earlier in the year, there is a resultant effect of increased demand for Nigerian Cocoa which will affect price coupled with the closure of land borders in Nigeria through which neighbouring countries would easily transport their volumes of cocoa into the Nigerian market to augment supply.

Prices opened in the south-west at N650, 000/MT at the farm gate at the beginning of October, and are currently at N720, 000/MT. The market for cocoa in Nigeria is highly speculative with traders and merchants speculating as high as N900, 000/MT at the peak of the season in January 2020.

Overall, this season will be characterized by quick price appreciation, scarcity and high incidence of poor quality beans.

Cocoa Outlook Demand Side Dynamics

International buyers are entering into strategic partnerships with Nigerian businesses to aggregate volumes of cocoa from Nigeria. There is an increasing demand for Nigerian Cocoa in the international market stemming from the envisaged shortfall of cocoa from Ghana as a result of the black pod disease reported to plague the crop.

There is also the renewed interest in Nigeria around the agricultural sector as an alternative to crude oil, leading to significant investments and deliberate efforts being made towards attaining quality specifications of the international market, which typically attracts a premium.

A number of the large multinationals have already commenced purchasing and we envisage there will be a differential of up to 40% between opening season price and peak season price per MT at the farm gate.

Strategy to Adopt

We recommend an aggressive aggregation strategy backed by provision of liquidity with an objective to achieve volume targets, but at a comparative price advantage to the competition.

The utilization of AFEX’s supply chain network will reduce the cost of aggregation as well as provide comfort to the buyers by assuring the quality and quantity of products.

This post first appeared on the AFEX blog

Ginger Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

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Ginger Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

Insights on the commodity markets in Nigeria are critical as we enter into the 2019/2020 season. All key crops traded on AFEX Commodities Exchange are being considered in view of the demand and supply dynamics as well as a look into possible proactive measures that investors can take. Read below for the AFEX Ginger outlook for the 2019/2020 season in Nigeria.

Ginger Outlook Supply-Side Dynamics

Ginger cultivation was good with sufficient rainfall and many of the farmers increase their farm holdings due to favourable prices in the preceding season.

Harvest is yet to commence due to persisting rains, however, it is hoped that the rains will halt within the coming weeks and the farmers can commence harvesting. The volume of rains had a good impact on cultivation, but could potentially have a negative effect on the yield if it continues to fall, meaning that the farmers will be unable to harvest, split and dry.

The likely consequence would be high crop rot in the ground since all of the post-harvest activities are carried out manually, especially drying which requires direct sunlight.

There is no old season harvest in the market for trade, however, a few fresh roots have been traded by farmers pressed to fulfil some financial commitment. The fresh roots are trading at approximately NGN 4,000 per 40kg bag with a conversion rate of 3:1 into a dry- split product.

Prices rose to around NGN 600,000 per MT in the peak of the last season and we expect a significant drop with the new season crop. The new season output (dry-split) is open to a lot of speculation and this is heavily consequent on the volumes and quality of the product when it comes out.

Supply is expected to commence mid-end November/ early December and quick price appreciation is likely to characterize this season.

Ginger Outlook Demand Side Dynamics

There has been a huge influx of buyers into the Nigerian ginger market.  A number of the large aggregators have set up warehouses and collection centres in close proximity to the farmer communities.

Demand is expected to be higher than supply with an attendant flight of prices within a short period.

Strategy to Adopt

We recommend an aggressive aggregation strategy commencing in mid-November when moisture levels are within the acceptable range. An aggregation strategy backed by liquidity for an immediate cash settlement to farmers will yield positive results.

Utilization of AFEX supply chain network will reduce the cost of aggregation as well as provide comfort to the buyers by assuring the quality and quantity of products.

This post first appeared on the AFEX blog

Maize Outlook For The 2019/2020 Season

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Maize Outlook For The 2019/2020 Season

Insights on the commodity markets in Nigeria are critical as we enter into the 2019/2020 season. All key crops traded on AFEX Commodities Exchange are being considered in view of the demand and supply dynamics as well as a look into possible proactive measures that investors can take. Read below for the AFEX maize outlook for the 2019/2020 season in Nigeria.

Maize Outlook Supply-Side Dynamics

The rains are beginning to recede in most parts of the North, and the grain moisture levels are high so we expect 16-18% Moisture Content (MC) from mid to end October but a stable 14% and below from November.

Maize harvest and stocking was expected to commence at the end of September. Despite the difficult season, we see a good harvest across board for Maize but a short period of availability at the farm gate; therefore, a concrete aggregation plan would be useful.

In multiple large markets in the North West, the price started at N6, 000 per 93Kg Bag or N65,000 per MT and quickly appreciated to N72,000 ending October. Now in mid-November, the price is N78,000. In the North East, prices are at N65,000 per MT with huge and increasing stock availability, however, we envisage that logistics will not readily available for volumes.

Other important markets for maize will be Tuesday (Anchau) and Wednesday (Saminaka). Markets like Makarfi, Giwa in Kaduna; Dandume and Bakori will dealing at a stable N78,000 per MT mid-November.

Maize Outlook Demand Side Dynamics

We gather that a number of players are/will be in an intense rush to build up volumes. For Maize, there will be up to 5,000 differentials between market prices for grains and best offer prices to large volume traders supplying a number of Mills. The market is basically incentivizing traders to direct traffic to them.

Strategy to Adopt

We recommend a dual strategy with an objective to achieve volume targets, but at a comparative price advantage to the competition.

  1. Aggressive trade volumes but with a closed pricing approach, so the market isn’t further upset.
  2. The aggressive stock build-up at farm gate/AFEX Warehouse for shipment in May/June.

This post first appeared on the AFEX blog

Soybean Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

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Soybean Outlook For 2019/ 2020 Season

Insights on the commodity markets in Nigeria are critical as we enter into the 2019/2020 season. All key crops traded on AFEX Commodities Exchange are being considered in view of the demand and supply dynamics as well as a look into possible proactive measures that investors can take. Read below for the AFEX soybean outlook for the 2019/2020 season in Nigeria.

Soybean Outlook Supply-Side Dynamics

Soybean production for the season has been characterized by heavy rains. Harvest has commenced as the rains are beginning to recede in most parts of the North, and the grain moisture levels are high at 15-16% MC from the end of October to mid – November.

In Benue and Taraba, the rains have persisted slightly longer and only a handful of farmers have been able to harvest by early November, most of which have high levels of immature grains with very high moisture content. We expect a stable 12% and below from the end of November across all locations.

Prices started at N115, 000 per MT in Benue, N100, 000 in Taraba and N110, 000 in the North West (Kaduna, Katsina, and Kano). We also envisage that logistics will be a challenge for most suppliers especially those in the Northeast with prices as high as N600, 000 – N700, 000 for deliveries to the South Western States.

Soybean Outlook Demand Side Dynamics

The local demand for soybean has over the years outweighed the local supply of the product and by a significant margin. Demand players have positioned themselves strategically to mop up volumes at the farm gate. We anticipate a conservative 25% – 30% differential between market prices for grains at point of harvest in mid-late November and Peak period in July/ August. The market is basically liquidity-driven with products going to the biggest pockets.

Strategy to Adopt

We recommend a dual strategy with an objective to achieve volume targets, but at a comparative price advantage to the competition.

  1. Aggressive trade volumes but with a closed pricing approach, so the market isn’t further upset.
  2. The aggressive stock build-up at farm gate/AFEX Warehouse for shipment in June/July.

This post first appeared on the AFEX blog

VFD Donates Administrative Block, Education Materials To Anambra Schools

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VFD Donates Administrative Block, Education Materials To Anambra Schools

VFD Group has recognized education as one of the building blocks of any nation as it renovated administrative block and provided some educational materials for Uga Boys Secondary School, and Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Anambra state, respectively.

The financial institution, which donated the educational aids to mark its 10th anniversary on November 13th and 14th, used the initiative to emphasised that education is a priority area in its CSR activities. Its aim is to nurture young minds and educate them so that they contribute to the nation’s development.

Realising the importance and relevance of education, VFD renovated an administrative block with tables, chairs and donated other educational materials to Uga Boys to benefit the community by boosting literacy levels in the state.

Group Managing Director, VFD Group Plc, Nonso Okpala, explained that when he visited the school and found that the facilities are not suitable and conducive for learning, he decided to convince the management of the institution that the project, if approved, could enable the students to compete favourably with their counterparts in the state.

He said, “We pen down the project idea and I went to convince my colleagues on how important it is for us to contribute to the uplift of the school. The difference between an advanced society and an unadvanced is education.

“If Uga is to do well, we must make education a cardinal point of our programme. I understand that there are huge challenges the student face in their daily lives, it should not hold them back in progress. If Prof Charles Soludo graduated from this school and succeed, I believe nothing can hold anyone back from attaining great heights in life.

“I know that the school may still lack certain things but I also urge the students not to be held back by the challenges they face, believe in yourself and study like there is no other way to success. VFD contributes to a number of initiatives, funding and building schools. All these initiatives have been undertaken to benefit communities by helping increase literacy levels.”

Principal, Uga Boys Secondary School, lauded the efforts of VFD to transform the school that has produced several successful Nigerians.

The elated principal said, “VFD is a great company. It has done a great thing for us, deeming it fit to give back to a school that had fed great Nigerians. The company has fulfilled the dreams of JF Kennedy when he encouraged us to ask what we can do for our country and not what the country can do for us.

“The era when our student tried to avoid dripping water falling from the roof of the hall while writing examinations has gone with this development. We assure VFD that the infrastructure development will help towards improving teaching and learning in the school.”

Examination Hall of Uga Boys Secondary school renovated by VFD Group Plc.

He added that the school still need the intervention of all stakeholders on perimeter fencing to check influx of trespassers including human and animal; renovation of its science laboratory, security personal, ICT complex, renovation of the principal house and provision of library shelves and current books among others.

While presenting some educational materials to the school authority of Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Managing Director, VFD Microfinance Bank, Azubike Emodi, said, “I am excited to make a little donation to the school like Education materials and we hope that it makes a lot of impact in the lives of the students. We will be back and do a lot more.”

While at DMGS, Nonso Okpala in his personal capacity made a promise to sponsor the University education of the best student in the upcoming Senior WAEC Examination, leaving the principal, teachers and administrative staff members delighted.

Executives and Management of VFD Group Plc at Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, Anambra State.

Commissioner for Basic Education, Anambra state, Prof. Kate Omenugha, also urged other institutions to emulate VFD to lift the faces of schools in the state and across Nigeria.

She said, “When I was coming here, I didn’t know what to expect. I salute VFD as the new examination hall dazed me, with amazing flat tables. It is beyond our expectations. The borehole and toilet facilities are amazing.

“With this development, the students would be able to know what it takes to learn in a serene environment and we must thank the VFD family for the lovely gesture.”

OPay Launches OCar, Set To Disrupt Uber, Bolt, Others

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OPay Launches OCar, Set To Disrupt Uber, Bolt, Others

Opera-backed Opay has announced its launch of OCar, the newest addition to its slew of ride-hailing services in Nigeria. Indeed, the launch of OCar is seen by analysts as a direct threat to the likes of Uber, Bolt and other cab-hailing services.

Meanwhile, the fintech firm already has an arsenal of services occupying verticals. These include food (OFood), bike-hailing (ORide), classified ads (OList), three-wheelers (OTrike) and bus-hailing (OBus). Further, the service will be available for Nigerians in Lagos, Owerri, PH, Abuja, Benin and Abeokuta, among others.

Pricing will follow the same principle that OPay has employed with the ORide and others. Fares may go for as low as N200 for all early birds who sign up to use the service.

Users may pay using their dedicated OPay app as competitors Uber and Bolt already do. Experts have identified the launch of OCar as proof of the company’s bold designs in truly settling into and dominating the African fintech space. This latest attempt is considered OPay’s shoring up of its place in Nigeria’s competitive market.

Only this week, Opay secured a Series B funding of $120 million from Chinese investors. It said the sum was to help it further sink its feet into the Nigerian market space and expand its services into other African countries like Kenya, among others.

Centurion Senior Associate Zion Adeoye Wins ESQ 40 Under 40 Award

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Centurion Senior Associate Zion Adeoye Wins ESQ 40 Under 40 Award

Centurion’s Senior Associate Zion Adeoye has been recognized as an ESQ 40 under 40 Lawyer at the Nigerian Rising Stars Award last week. The ESQ 40 under 40 award recognizes distinguished Nigerian lawyers under the age of 40, who will shape the future of the legal profession in Nigeria and on the continent.

Since joining Centurion, Zion has earned himself a strong reputation among its peers and the firm’s leading clients from across the continent. In his role as Senior Associate, Zion oversees a growing team of African lawyers working on the most complex energy transactions shaping Africa’s modern energy industry.

“I am truly honoured for this recognition and thank Centurion for providing me with the right environment to grow as a lawyer and as a person,” declared Zion Adeoye. “This is a demonstration of what young Nigerian legal talent can achieve when given the opportunity to work and contribute to the growth of Africa.”

“At Centurion we believe in young African talent and pride ourselves in hiring and training the next generation of African lawyers and energy leaders,” said Nj Ayuk, CEO of Centurion Law Group. “We are delighted that Zion’s work is getting such esteemed recognition, which is only the reflection of how hard he works and the level of dedication he gives to the firm and its clients.”

How To Hide Your Likes On Instagram: 5 Methods

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How To Hide Your Likes On Instagram: 5 Methods

Recently, Instagram revealed its plans to hide the likes underneath the posts in the near future. There are many reasons for this decision by Instagram, but the most important one is probably the desire to make using the website a less competitive and safer experience.

The new feature was announced by Instagram approximately 6 months ago and the service began rolling out the feature for select users last week. With hidden likes, only the user who posted the content can see the overall number of likes, while others can only access the list of people who liked the post.

In theory, this should make Instagram users less likely to do whatever it takes to earn likes. However, you may also want to hide your likes for a different reason: for example, to prevent certain people from monitoring your activity. Here are 5 ways to hide your likes and other activity on Instagram.

Method 1: Become A Night User

It doesn’t take any deep knowledge of social media to know that people are not particularly active on their phones in general and Instagram in particular during the night. If you want to keep your activity less visible for other users, you can simply enjoy browsing Instagram and liking posts during the late-night and early morning hours.

At these hours, your followers will likely be asleep and not be able to track your activity in real-time. By the time they get up and open Instagram, they will probably have lots of new posts and notifications to deal with and will probably never scroll far enough to notice your activity.

Method 2: Block The Person

If there is only one person who you want to keep oblivious about your Instagram likes and other social media activity, you can prevent them from snooping in one simple yet radical step. Just block the user you don’t want to keep track of your Instagram use, and they will never be able to see your likes or even your posts.

Method 3: Be Very Active

Instagram is pretty inclusive when recording your recent activities for your followers, but its opportunities are not endless. The important thing to know here is that Instagram only displays the 8 most recent photos that you liked. So if there is a post you liked and don’t want anyone to find out about it, simply like 8 more posts after that, and your followers will only see those 8 latest posts on their feed.

Method 4: Save Posts

In case you want to like a particular post to come back to it later, you can save it instead of liking it. Only you can access the list of saved posts for your account and it will remain there for as long as you need without anyone knowing.

Method 5: Hide Activities

Not many Instagram users know this, but you can actually hide your activity, including likes and new accounts you follow, by simply turning off the visibility of your activities in the settings. If you want to prevent other people to discover the posts you like, go to Settings -> Activity -> Turn Off Activities to hide your actions on the app.

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