Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Nigeria Tops Global Ranking of Mobile Internet Traffic

The internet is mobile: Nigeria tops the global ranking of mobile generated internet traffic, with South Africa third. This is the well-known legacy of poor infrastructure investment combined with deregulated economies creating rapid mass adoption


Video is the content queen: In developed markets the ubiquity of devices and high-speed networks, plus declining costs of memory, storage and computing power clearly indicate a different, user-driven media landscape. Almost all large social platforms have/are migrating to video led content. Average total Facebook link shares dipped below 30, image shares declined below 150 while video shares averaged between 500 and 600 (Jan to Jun 2016, source Buzzsumo).

This is the primary reason Facebook has again rejigged its algorithms to favour video. Snapchat’s meteoric rise is yet another indicator.

Click here for the complete report with graphs.



Monday, August 29, 2016

Lagos' Economy is Nearly Twice the Size of Kenya

 
With a GDP of US$95 billion Lagos has an economy nearly twice the size of Kenya’s-East Africa’s biggest economy.
Lagos Apapa Port located in Tin Can Island is one of the biggest in Africa, generating over N3 trillion in annual revenue.
The Ikoyi Bridge is one of the most beautiful in Africa and the first Cable Suspension Bridge in West Africa. It took 3 years to build.
Lagos: Africa’s 5th Biggest Economy
Posted on March 8, 2016 by Perestroika
 https://ourtimeiscome.com/2016/03/08/lagos-africas-5th-biggest-economy/

Urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience. 

Resilience is about surviving and thriving, regardless of the challenge. 
~ http://www.100resilientcities.org/#/-_/
 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:  
LAGOS in MOTION: A Photo Album of Africa's Largest Megacity (LAGOS: Africa's Largest Megacity) (Volume 1)
Paperback US$20.00

Sunday, August 28, 2016

How Fashola Transformed Africa's Largest Megacity of Lagos - Financial Times


Fashola: The man who would tame Nigeria’s megacity
~ By Matthew Green (first published on August 7, 2009 3:25 pm, FT Magazine when Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, was Lagos State Governor from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015, He is currently the Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing.)


One Sunday afternoon in Lagos, a man leapt out into Akin Adesola, the main street on Victoria Island, and flagged down my car. He yanked open the door, swung into the front passenger seat and barked “drive”.

Anger radiated from him like heat. He wore no uniform and carried no gun, but desperation imbued him with an iron authority. All the pent-up frustrations of the megacity seemed to flow through him like an electric current.
He whipped out a tattered paper and jabbed his finger at a list of violations – I had failed to stop at a white line. He said I had better pay the fine now or go to the station where his superior would be less inclined to leniency.

“What makes you think you can come to my country and break our laws?” he spat. His eyes bulged and beads of sweat glistened on his shaven head. He stared through the windshield at the passing cars. “I should not be out here directing traffic,” he said. “I am a graduate.”

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Boko Haram Violence in Lake Chad Region Leaves Children Displaced and Trapped


 "Thank God we're alive, but we've lost everything, our camels, our jewels, our savings. Everything," says Fatime Saleh, 10, who was displaced from Chad alongside her family due to Boko Haram violence. "This is not ok for ...

TORONTO and DAKAR, Aug. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - Years of violence by Boko Haram in Africa's Lake Chad basin have led to a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced 1.4 million children and left at least one million still trapped in hard-to-reach areas, UNICEF said in a report released today.
"The Lake Chad crisis is a children's crisis that should rank high on the global migration and displacement agenda," said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. "Humanitarian needs are outpacing the response, especially now that new areas previously unreachable in north-east Nigeria become accessible."

Friday, August 26, 2016

How British Companies and Others Control Over US$1Trillion of Africa's Resources

How British Companies and Others Control Over US$1Trillion of Africa's Resources


Give them their parliament but we will control the banks
Lusaka Times, August 26, 2016
~ By Mark Curtis

Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange control over $1trillion worth of Africa’s resources in just five commodities – oil, gold, diamonds, coal and platinum. My research for the NGO, War on Want, which has just been published, reveals that 101 companies, most of them British, control $305billion worth of platinum, $276billion worth of oil and $216billion worth of coal at current market prices. The ‘Scramble for Africa’ is proceeding apace, with the result that African governments have largely handed over their treasure.

Click here to read the full report.

How President Buhari is Cracking Corruption in Nigeria


Nigeria: Cracking Corruption
Public Finance International, August 26, 2016
~ By Emma Rumney

Nigeria is one of the most “fantastically corrupt” countries in the world – that is, in the words of former prime minister David Cameron, who was caught boasting to the Queen in May that a delegation from Nigeria was to attend his flagship anti-corruption summit.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Video: Lagos Morning Rush Hour on Victoria Island



Elsie-Femi Pearse Street and Adeola Odeku Road Junction on Victoria Island during the Wednesday morning rush hour of yesterday.

Video: For Clean Water And Sanitation For All


For Clean Water And Sanitation For All 

The facts are startling. Today, 663 million people are still denied access to clean water and 946 million people do not have proper sanitation.


With your help, we can end these risks and save millions of lives year.

Take action on our Water & Sanitation campaign now.

Join me in a growing movement of millions of people across the planet who are taking action to solve the world's biggest challenges.

#showup and Join the movement http://glblctzn.me/2aYLiY9

Let us make a difference today.

JOBS: nuTonomy is Recruiting!


JOBS: nuTonomy is Recruiting!  

Current openings
nuTonomy is focused on research and development for state-of-the-art self-driving cars. We aim to be the first company in the world to launch an autonomous taxi system, and we are building up an awesome team to make this goal a reality.

Please send all applications to jobs@nutonomy.com. Include a CV, examples of your past work (e.g., papers, code), and your preferred office - Cambridge, MA or Singapore. If applying to our US office, please indicate your eligibility to work in the country.

nuTonomy offers competitive salary and benefits, great colleagues, and a fun work environment.

Currently we have openings for:

    Embedded Software Engineer – Automotive R&D / ADAS Experience
    Motion Planning / Controls – Research Scientist or Engineer
    Research Scientist – Computer Vision – Machine Learning
    Software Engineer – Computer Vision – C++
    Mapping & Localization Engineer
    Software Engineer – Mapping and Annotation Tools
    Software Engineer – Master C++ Programmer
    Software Test Engineer
    Machine Learning Specialist
    Control Systems Engineer
    Radar Engineer
    UX / UI / Industrial Designer
    Drivers – Data Collection
    Drivers – Self-driving Vehicle Operator (Safety Driver)
    Business Intern
    Recent Graduates

Go to http://www.nutonomy.com/jobs.html.

Singapore Launches the First Self-Driving Taxi in the World


Singapore Launches the First Self-Driving Taxi in the World


World's first self-driving taxi service launches 
Aug 25 2016, 08:28 ET | By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor
  • Singapore became the first country in the world to offer a self-driving taxi service with the targeted launch of nuTonomy. A full roll-out of an autonomous taxi service across the nation is expected as early as 2018.