Tag: money

  • Coronavirus: Police Brutalise, Teargas Traders, Buyers During Enforcement Of Market Closure In Osun

    Coronavirus: Police Brutalise, Teargas Traders, Buyers During Enforcement Of Market Closure In Osun

    Coronavirus: Police Brutalise, Teargas Traders, Buyers During Enforcement Of Market Closure In Osun 1

    Coronavirus: Police Brutalise, Teargas Traders, Buyers During Enforcement Of Market Closure In Osun 2


     

    In trying to enforce the closure of markets as ordered by Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, the police brutalised and fired teargas canisters at traders and buyers at Ifon Market on Wednesday morning. 

    The governor had on Tuesday ordered the closure of all weekly markets in the state to curb the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

    The government stated that only daily markets would be allowed to operate because they attracted small number of persons at a time.

    However, in enforcing the order, the police in Osun embarked on extra-judicial activities by harassing and brutalising buyers and sellers at Ifon Market.

    Some buyers caught in the melee, explained to our correspondent that they went to purchase food items but were attacked by policemen.

    “Police officers stormed the market in large numbers and teargassed everyone both young and old.

    “The market was filled with people from all over the state, we had to rush out of the place to escape beating from the police,” one witness said. 

    Another resident explained that her husband had to hurriedly go in search for money after the pronouncement by the governor so that they could stock some food items in the house.

    She said, “What would people eat during the period of staying at home if they couldn’t get food?

    “Why should people be dispersed with teargas while trying to get items to be used for a long time during the course of this epidemic?” a woman queried.

    The residents urged the state government to revisit the order and give people the opportunity to stock their houses with food items before closing all markets.

    “Yesterday’s act was not needed at this point where people live from hand to mouth. 

    “I strongly call on the appropriate authorities to look into this and check on those who might have been injured during the ruthless act by police officers,” one of the affected residents of the state said.

    While speaking, another resident of Osun said, “Government and prominent people in the state should also help by providing materials and items which will help to alleviate suffering at this hard time.”

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  • COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

    COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

    Olabisi Deji-Folutile
    Olabisi Deji-Folutile

    COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile 3Olabisi Deji-Folutile


     

    The world is facing its most trying and unprecedented times as the last few weeks have been most challenging for almost everybody.  What started in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic, has put the entire world in disarray.  Major streets across the globes have become empty. Both the rich and the poor are being ravaged by the plague of COVID-19, which the World Health Organisation has rightly described as a pandemic. Work places have been shut; religious and social gatherings banned and many countries are on total lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of this viral disease. Expectedly, schools are also affected across board.  Every day people are being told to embrace social distancing and suddenly things like human contacts, hitherto considered as free gifts of life, are becoming very expensive.

    No one knows when this whole chaos will end, so people are making different kinds of adjustments to cope with the situation while it lasts. Many companies have shifted their operations online. Likewise, many schools have opted for e-learning, making use of available technology for teaching and learning.

     Universities around the world are making use of communication technology to ease the effects of the global pandemic on their academic calendars.   In China, universities are going for online teaching instead of in-class teaching; the ones in Australia have moved their classes online just as UK universities have suspended face-to-face teaching.  Turkey started its remote university classes on March 23. In Kenya, universities have activated communication between lecturers and students via social media platforms and emails while classes have gone totally online in the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan.  Teachers in France have been working with their students on Zoom.  

    Just a few days ago, Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, directed the ministry of education to collaborate with the ministry of communications in rolling out open learning programmes in response to the closure of all educational institutions in the country. In the same vein, Mount Kenya University’s Vice-Chancellor Peter Wanderi, has announced the extension of online teaching platforms for regular students to facilitate the learning process.  And to take care of the over six million students that have experienced disruption to their studies, ten North African and 12 Arab countries have begun work on an e-learning initiative to facilitate open and online education.

    These are some of the steps being taken across the globe to bridge the gap created by school closure in the wake of COVID-19.  Unfortunately, while all these activities are going on in other parts of the world, Nigerian government has not said anything about steps being taken to take care of its students’ community.  Rather, the only message from the Federal Government was a total closure of all tertiary institutions and FG-owned unity schools till further notice. A statement issued by the National Universities Commission simply said universities would remain   shut   for one month while the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said tertiary institutions would remain shut indefinitely.

     Assuming government has been overwhelmed by the burden of controlling the spread of COVID- 19, hence its silence on options for learning for its teeming student population, one would have expected the higher institutions themselves to at least say something, but as it is, they too are not helping matters. The silence in our universities has been deafening. To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, decided to choose this time, of all times, to embark on an indefinite strike. One wonders how the academic body   manages to feel comfortable being on a strike at a time when researchers across the globe   are busy looking for solution to a pandemic that is ravaging the entire world.  This kind of action makes one query the essence of having Research and Development as a core component of tertiary education in Nigeria when researchers can be nowhere to be found at a critical time of societal needs.

    By now, our researchers should be adding their voices to the various efforts being made towards developing a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. After all, universities are expected to proffer solutions to societal problems.  This is a wrong time for ASUU to embark on an indefinite strike. This should be a time of strategising and proffering solutions. This is really the time for everyone to get involved. Besides, I think Nigerian universities should also be more forthcoming on their responses to the challenges posed to their students by COVID-19.

    As it is, religious organisations are doing far better in terms of their responses to the effects of this pandemic on their primary constituencies.  Many of them have devised other means of getting the attention of   their members following several government directives prohibiting either gatherings or limiting the number of people allowed to congregate at a time.   Almost all the churches have switched to online platforms for their services.  How come religious organisations are working hard to keep their flocks and both government and higher institutions in Nigeria are just moving on as if all is well?  No word on how to keep the students busy or keep them engaged using available online technology! Should teaching and learning be restricted to the classrooms alone in this 21st century?

     Nigeria has always been described as a religious society. Corona Virus has further exposed the smartness of our religious bodies and the dullness of those in charge of our public educational institutions.  This is not an attempt to blame any religious organisation for having the foresight to deploy technology in reaching their audiences. Instead, it is a wakeup call to managers of our educational institutions to adopt and use available technology to help their students at a time like this.

    Apart from the National Open University of Nigeria, which basically runs online, I doubt if there is any other public university in the country that has capacity for online teaching.  This is in spite of the launch of the Nigerian Communication Satellite known as NIGCOMSAT by the Nigerian Government first in 2007 and then NIGCOMSAT-IR in December 2011, to provide critical ICT backbone infrastructure to support e-learning, among others in the country. 

    What is the essence of investing so much money in a communication satellite if it cannot be deployed at a time of need?   Those in charge of NIGCOMSAT, the commercial arm of Nigeria’s space centre, have consistently claimed that the technology has the capacity to cover the entire Africa.  If that is the case, why is the country still struggling to deploy internet connectivity facilities to its schools to aide e-learning?  If we are truly a serious country, by now, all the schools in urban and rural areas should have been connected to the e-learning services.

    No doubt, COVID-19 has exposed Nigeria’s unpreparedness for e-learning. But, we can’t afford to remain where we are. That is why it is important for every institution to start thinking of how to deploy available technology in the world for the good of their students at this critical period.   Universities should as a matter of urgency migrate online. This shouldn’t be another season of waiting and probably wasting for the Nigerian student.  There is no reason why any higher institution worth its name should suspend all academic activities until the end of Corona Virus with all the available resources and technology in the world today. The minimum expected of them is to upload teaching resources online for students to have access to them.  At least this will give the students the opportunity to learn on their own.

    This is also an opportunity for telecommunications companies like Glo, MTN and the rest of them to make a difference in Nigeria’s educational institutions. They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other educational institutions; or provide data at cheaper rates to help poor students have access to the internet for online learning.

    I know there are obvious stumbling blocks to digital learning in Nigeria. Many students don’t even have access to devices while the cost of buying data is still high. These challenges and others have provided    telecommunications companies a huge opportunity of making a difference in Nigerian higher institutions by providing e-learning solutions and broadband connectivity to universities and other higher institutions.

    They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other higher institutions; or help poor students who have limited or poor internet access to enhance online learning.

    Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief of Franktalknow.com and member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

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    COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile
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  • Expectations for money markets as rates dip lower

    Expectations for money markets as rates dip lower

    What investors need to know about Vanguard money market funds.
    Expectations for money markets as rates dip lower
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  • Your Investing Life™: Step 1—Understanding risk and return

    Your Investing Life™: Step 1—Understanding risk and return

    Investing—and taking some risk—gives your money an opportunity to grow so it can maintain purchasing power over time.
    Your Investing Life™: Step 1—Understanding risk and return
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  • Is Your Business Prepared for Cloud Computing?

    With more and more businesses starting to transition into the cloud, Business Only Broadband (BOB) wants to stress the importance of having a diverse Internet connection that will allow a successful movement and operation into the cloud without the fear of losing critical Internet/data access. Although cloud computing can save your business time, money, and storage space, it can fail if Internet/data access is disrupted. This is something that is oftentimes overlooked…

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  • Penang govt allocates RM75m to disbursed as aid

    Penang govt allocates RM75m to disbursed as aid

    Penang govt allocates RM75m to disbursed as aid 6

    GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will allocate up to RM75 million under an initiative to rejuvenate the economy that has been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pix) said the money, in the form of financial incentives, will be disbursed in three components.

    The first is directed at those considered most vulnerable. They include hawkers, petty traders, taxi drivers, trishaw peddlers e-hailing drivers, the disabled and those among the low income, or B40, group.

    The second group to benefit from the incentive are the blue collar workers. Chow said the money is meant to help them survive and take care of their families.

    The third component is to help ensure business continuity when the country gets through the crisis.

    Chow, who made the announcement at his daily social media update to the public, said the state government would give a one-off payment of RM500 each to registered petty traders, hawkers, food truck vendors, tour guides, taxi drivers and trishaw peddlers.

    E-hailing drivers will be given RM300 each.

    Those who live in state public housing units will be exempted from paying rent for two months while those who lease lots at the wet markets, food courts and other similar facilities will not have to pay a month’s rent.

    A total of RM3 million from zakat contributions has been set aside to help families of those who have contracted Covid-19.

    Chow said the frontliners from the state’s two city councils will each get RM300 in recognition of their role in helping to curb the spread of the virus.

    Others who will also benefit from the RM300 payout are uniformed personnel serving under the movement control order (MCO) initiative aimed to curtail the growth rate of Covid-19 infections.

    A total of RM10 million has been set aside for the purchase of equipment such as protective suits, surgical masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers.

    Entrepreneurs whose businesses have incurred losses as a result of the MCO will be given interest-free loans under the Penang Business Continuity plan. A total of RM30 million has been allocated for this purpose.

    The 40 state assemblymen will be provided RM30,000 each to finance relief efforts for their constituents affected by the MCO.

    The state will also defer payments for trading lots used by small-scale businesses.

    Penang govt allocates RM75m to disbursed as aid
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  • Rohingya who attended tabligh gathering urged to go for screening

    Rohingya who attended tabligh gathering urged to go for screening

    Rohingya who attended tabligh gathering urged to go for screening 9

    KUALA LUMPUR: To contain further spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia, Mercy Malaysia today called on the Rohingya ethnic group who were at the Ijtimak Tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque from Feb 28 to March 1, to come forward for Covid-19 screening.

    Programme Operations general manager Mohammad Said Alhudzari Ibrahim said it is estimated that about 500 Rohingya people had joined the tabligh gathering and some of them have been identified.

    He said though some have undergone health screening, others have refused to do so as they feared they would be arrested by the authorities should they report themselves for the testing.

    So far, no Covid-19 positive cases have been identified from among this group.

    “For those who are afraid to come for screening, Mercy Malaysia will contact the nearest District Health Office for further action, once we have the information,“ he said when contacted by Bernama today.

    Mohammad Said Alhudzari said in tracking down the Rohingya Muslims, Mercy Malaysia was working in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMARET), Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA), National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), Ministry of Health (MOH) and Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation (Tzu Chi).

    He said should any of the Rohingya people is found to be Covid-19 positive, Mercy Malaysia would ensure that their family members are quarantined and food aid would be given to them.

    “Money raised for the Covid-19 Pandemic Fund launched on March 18, will be used for this purpose,” he added. – Bernama

    Rohingya who attended tabligh gathering urged to go for screening
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  • Why I invest: “A difficult diagnosis changed my views on money.”

    Why I invest: “A difficult diagnosis changed my views on money.”

    After a difficult diagnosis, Priscilla changed her views on money. Here’s how she and her husband saved 38% of their income last year.
    Why I invest: “A difficult diagnosis changed my views on money.”
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