Accelerating innovation with Leadership By Bill Gates

As the U.S. presidential candidates lay out competing visions for the country, I have been thinking about a topic they have not yet discussed in detail: what political leadership can do to accelerate innovation. Innovation is the reason our lives have improved over the last century.

From electricity and cars to medicine and planes, innovation has made the world better. Today, we are far more productive because of the IT revolution. The most successful economies are driven by innovative industries that evolve to meet the needs of a changing world.

From the advances that put a computer on every desk to the discoveries that led to lifesaving vaccines, major innovations are the result of both government investments in basic research and the private-sector creativity and investments that turn them into transformative products. I’ve heard some people argue that life-changing innovations come exclusively from the private sector.

But innovation starts with government support for the research labs and universities working on new insights that entrepreneurs can turn into companies that change the world. The public sector’s investments unlock the private sector’s ingenuity. I was lucky enough to be a student when computers came along in the 1960s. At first they were very expensive, so it was hard to get access to them. But the twin miracles of the microchip revolution and the internet—both made possible by U.S. government research—completely changed that. It’s no wonder that today most of the leading hardware and software companies are based in the U.S.

Accelerating innovation requires both political leadership and private sector leadership. As U.S. voters decide which candidates they want to elect to fill national, state, and local offices, and as many countries around the world undergo similar political transitions, I think we should consider what kind of leaders can drive the innovations we need.

The best leaders have the ability to do both the urgent things that demand attention today and at the same time lay the groundwork for innovation that will pay dividends for decades. As a country and around the world, we confront a wide array of urgent issues that our leaders must address—from terrorism to job creation to migration.

Our next president will be part of a new group of global leaders who will wrestle with these urgent problems. Those leaders can either prioritize alleviating poverty, making everyone healthier, and accelerating economic growth—or they can let progress stall.

The key to prioritizing progress is support for innovation. When we innovate, we create millions of jobs, we build the companies that lead the world, we are healthier, and we make our lives more productive. And these benefits transcend borders, powering improvements in lives around the world. Our global culture of innovation has been most successful at those moments when science, technology, and great leadership come together to create miracles that improve modern life.

 I believe we are in one of those moments. One of the most indelible examples of a world leader unleashing innovation from both public and private sectors came in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy spoke to the U.S. Congress and challenged the country to put a man on the moon within the decade.

That speech came at a time of cultural and political turmoil, when national and economic security dominated the headlines. President Kennedy believed looking to the skies would inspire the country dream big and accomplish huge things. That speech didn’t just launch humankind on a successful journey to the moon. It also inspired America to build a satellite network that changed the way we communicate across the globe and produced new forms of weather mapping which made farmers far more productive.

 In the face of fear, President Kennedy successfully summoned our country to harness American ingenuity and advance human progress. It’s important to remember what made the moonshot the moonshot—that is, what transforms political rhetoric into game-changing breakthroughs. A moonshot challenge requires a clear, measurable objective that captures the imagination of the nation and fundamentally changes how we view what’s possible. And it requires marshaling the resources and intellect of both the public and private sectors.

When we do that, we chart a course for a future that is safer, healthier, and stronger. Because we are at a pivotal moment when the conditions are ripe for transformative innovations, there are many important things this new group of national leaders—including whoever is elected in the U.S. in November—can accomplish over the next decade. There are four objectives I think we should prioritize: 1. Provide everyone on earth with affordable energy without contributing to climate change.

2. Develop a vaccine for HIV and a cure for neurodegenerative diseases.

3. Protect the world from future health epidemics, which might be more infectious than Ebola and more deadly than Zika.

4. Give every student and teacher new tools so all students get a world-class education. Provide everyone on earth with affordable energy without contributing to climate change There is enormous potential to develop technologies that will make energy cheaper and reduce our energy imports without contributing to climate change or air pollution.

In the next eight years, we could start the transition to a new type of clean fuel that doesn’t emit carbon, deploy batteries that let electric cars run far longer on a single charge, and produce dramatic drops in the total cost of renewables.

Last year, the U.S. and 20 other countries committed to doubling their energy R&D budgets, and 28 investors pledged to invest in the output of that research. This is only the start. By increasing government support for clean-energy research, presidents and prime ministers could attract more private investors to the field.

As early-stage ideas progress, private capital will pour in to build the companies that will deliver those ideas to market. Develop a vaccine for HIV and a cure for neurodegenerative diseases With the right leadership and investments over the next decade, we can discover and deliver a vaccine for HIV.

 Many have forgotten about the scourge of AIDS, treating it like a disease that can be managed instead of the deadly virus that kills more than 1 million people worldwide every year. Based on recent progress, I believe world leaders could help make an effective AIDS vaccine a reality within the next decade. And with a vaccine, we would be on the path to ending the disease altogether. We can also make tremendous progress on ending neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

These diseases are devastating for the people and families that they affect. They are also huge drivers of out- of-control health care costs, which deplete government budgets that could be used for other critical functions. 

SOURCE: Vangaurdngr

Recession: NNPC warns Nigeria’s oil, gas reserves running out

Following the recession currently bedeviling Nigeria, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, has raised alarm over the depletion of the nation’s crude oil and gas reserves.

Baru, made the disclosure when he was hosted by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, in Abuja, according to a statement released yesterday.

The NNPC boss appealed to oil and gas exploration companies, professionals and other stakeholders to focus on increasing the nation’s oil and gas reserve base.

According to Baru, the NNPC was ready to partner stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to grow the nation’s fast depleting reserves in order to increase productivity in the petroleum sector.

He said, “Our national gas demand forecast to year 2020, domestic plus export, indicates a rapid growth to 15 billion Standard Cubic Feet per day (bscfd), meaning current reserves level can only sustain that production for 35 years, if we do not increase the 2bscfd gas reserves base which require three trillion cubic feet (tcf) to replace production yearly.”

Baru stated that the country’s aspirations were to increase oil production to four million barrels per day and meet gas demand of 15 billion standard cubic feet per day, bscfd, by 2020, required for industrialization and consumption.

Lamenting that less than three per cent of all oil wells drilled in the Niger Delta Basin, both onshore and swamp, were deeper than 15,000 feet, Baru stated that a greater number of these wells had not gone beyond the 10,000 feet as a high pressure regime seemed to be a limiting factor.

He stated that “some of our earlier drilled non-commercial holes could be turned around if we deploy requisite technologies; we need to change our perspective of risk as technology is advancing.”

In a related development, former Group Managing Directors, GMD, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has warned that if left unattended to, the current challenges plaguing  Nigeria’s oil and gas sector was capable of leading to its total collapse.

SOURCE: Dailypostng

Air Force: Another fight for girl-child

Inside the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Abuja, the vision statement of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar was boldly written. The statement reads:  “To re-position the NAF into a highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient and timely employment of air power in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives.”

On the surface, it may look like one of those well-crafted mission statements which usually end up as empty statements, but for the man who is referred to simply as “chief”, the vision is worth every weight.

One of the ways which the CAS is hoping to re-write history and fulfil his vision is through education not only of Air Force personnel-which is done through training- but also providing for the needs of the dependents of his men through provision of world-class educational facilities.

One of such is the Air Force Girls’ Comprehensive School located at the NAF Base Abuja.  The NAF was not the original initiator of the school, but the Nigerian Air Force Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA) led by Hajia Hafsat  Abubakar, wife of the CAS. But the NAF took over the construction of the school after NAFOWA ran out of resources to complete it in 2013.

In December 2015, the CAS directed that work should resume and in eight months, a world class infrastructure stood in the ruins of the abandoned structure. What was built was described by the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan as a “21st century school.”  The sparkling new school boasts a mini stadium, dining hall, hostel, tennis court, fully equipped classrooms, a library and a clinic. There is a standby generator to provide electricity while the science, art and agriculture laboratories and four other classrooms are equipped with interactive white boards which enables the students to experience the three ways of learning: hear, see, feel.

Educating the girl child

The CAS did not bite his lips when he enumerated the importance of educating the girl child and why the NAF view it as one of its cardinal focus.” Our experience in fighting insurgency in the Northeast indicates the exploitation of the girl-child by insurgents due to low literacy level. At present, birth rate statistics show that 65 percent of births are girls. It is documented by most state Ministries of Education that the enrolment of girls in secondary schools is below 45 percent.

“This statistic is further supported by the results of the West African Examination Council. For instance in 2011out of a total of 688,516 girls that sat for the examination, only 226,804 got 5 credits. Similarly in 2012, about 747,553 girls sat for the examination and only 310,822 were successful.”

The CAS said this NAF resolved to establish the school as “our modest contribution to Mr. President’s efforts at enhancing girl-child education in Nigeria.” With the new school, the NAF now has two secondary schools dedicated to girl-child education with one in Jos and Abuja respectively. He added that the school will educate the hearts and minds of the girls that would pass through its gates.

For the Minister of Education, the construction of the school was “humbling” also stressing that the ratio of girl child education to boys is 1:3 in some states. This is also reinforced by the extremism of Boko Haram and the risks associated with girl child education kept the female educational attainment perpetually low.

After commissioning the school and a tour of the facilities was conducted, Dr. Yemi Esan said: “ I came here with some uncertainties but I am impressed, this school is directed towards the underprivileged to curt out of school syndrome, we encourage other arms of government to follow suit, this is a 21st century school.”

Yemi- Esan would not be the only one to be impressed, the next day at the Air Force Base Kaduna where NAFOWA had rehabilitated a nursery school and added the NAFOWA Little Angels Primary School, the CAS was also left impressed.

“I am overwhelmed,” he said when he was called to make a remark after the school had been commissioned by Hajia Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the wife of Kaduna State Governor, Hajia Hadiza El-rufai.

“Four years ago, I brought my daughter to the crèche here, but I am sure she cannot recognize her school again because of the transformation,” he said. Like the girls school, the NAFOWA Primary school was built to world standard with ample playing room for the children, a fully equipped library and computer centre, spacious and conducive atmosphere for learning, white black boards, fully equipped home economics room and a crèche with modern facilities.

While the CAS may have focused on education for the dependents of personnel, the real driver of these projects is adding value to the society.” Adding value to the society is our core mandate, I strongly belief that adding value to the society is the best legacy we can bequeath to our children,” he said.

But there is also a greater vision: thinking ahead.

“We have recruited 2,400 personnel and with the increase, you must start thinking of infrastructure. Our actions are driven by the desire to add value to society and that is the right direction to go,” he said.

There are many worries that come with such projects, will the infrastructure not a pointer to an exorbitant school fees.  Will the school be opened to children of civilians and how would the NAF maintain such a high standard facility, how much was expended into the project?

The CAS has answers for all. The school will follow the usual NAF fees schedule without adding anything on, the school will be opened to civilians, the NAF has maintenance structure put in place and the schools are of high standard so will stand the test of time and the schools are built using direct labour from the NAF, thereby cutting costs and enhancing the skills of Air Force engineers.

SOURCE: Thenationonlineng

Nigeria’s Anti-Terrorism War And Lessons from Civilian JTF

In war situations, there are always the unsung heroes. But it does not belittle their sacrifices in consummating the war.  Not many Nigerians have inkling about the lofty contributions the innocuous bands of youths in Borno state, self- styled as the Civilian Joint Task Force (C-JTF) made in the counter-insurgency battles.

They are even confused as a replication of the more popular Military Joint Task Force (M-JTF), mainly populated by the Nigerian security agencies. But C-JTF shares no similarity with M-JTF, but they are only conjoined by a common motivation- the freedom of their country from the fangs of Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs).

Initially, C-JTF members were a bunch of idle, but angered young men, domiciled in different parts of the Northeast, who tolerated years of the decimation of their population and annexation of their territories by insurgents. Provoked, they decided to willingly enlist into the anti-terror war to save their communities.

Such guts deserved special commendations. And it came from the highest level. It came from a man who understood the risk of putting men on the war front. It came from the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai who publicly acknowledged and praised the contributions of the CJTF in the war against BHT. On several occassions such as during the opening of roads like Maiduguri – Damboa, Maiduguri – Gamboru Ngala and at Damaturu  – Biu road, the COAS reserved special commendations for the bravery of CJTF.

Having led the offensive against the terrorist group, the COAS himself realises that they are a great assets to the fight against BHT. No wonder, the military under Buratai’s leadership tactically deployed the CJTF operatives in the core area of intelligence gathering which yielded many positive ambushes against the terrorists by the military and degraded BHT supplies.

Day and night, youths who would later become members of the C-JTF watched the violent elimination of their beloved ones by the lethal explosions of terrorists. They wailed and woke up the next day to face fresh conflagrations, some of which also consumed their own peers, friends and family members.

They gauged the spirited efforts of the Nigerian military in taming the monsters and concluded, it was deficient to the extent soldiers were alien to the communities and could not identify insurgents in their midst. It was this patriotic impulse that beckoned at them and they responded.

This was after former President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the Northeast in 2013. It initially started as the Volunteer Young Vigilance Group and later, renamed, C-JTF. Adamu Buba who chairs the C-JTF, Sector 5, recounted that youths in the area were spurred into action by the terrorists attack   on Giwa Barracks in Borno state.  They felt injured and challenged; prompting the instant decision of youths to mobilize to the spot to render assistance to the army.

C-JTF’s presence at the scene of the Giwa barracks attack incident was their first and close encounter with the military as an organized group. The encounter was quite nasty because soldiers held them in suspicion, as vestiges of the aggressors who attacked them. Soldiers in stern voices, with brandishing guns, asked them to lie flat and roll on the ground. They complied and endured the pain, before a chance to explain their mission rendered itself. Soldiers saw in their rare courage, an instant ally.

The sight of people hastily escaping from the attack never deterred them either, as they instantly and fearlessly engaged the Boko Haramists in fierce combats with machetes, bows and arrows.  The terrorists fled Giwa, compelling them to bid a retreat, but not without incurring some human casualties.

With this singular act of bravery C-JTF launched itself as a potent ally of the military in the counter-insurgency war.  In their ranks, were farmers, hunters, graduates, village jesters, wood carvers and even princes. They were all united by a common mission- how to assist liberate their communities from devilish fiends.

Soon, the concept of C-JTF spread to other parts of the Northeast. And their work had no restrictions. They conducted security checks, acted as informants to security agents of BHTs in their midst, exposed their hideouts to soldiers, battled insurgents on the field alongside with the military and rescued captives seized by terrorists.

Additionally, the C-JTF assisted the Nigerian army to navigate strange areas in the difficult terrains of the Northeast and sustained vigilance over communities. C-JTF also incurred irreplaceable losses in the cause of fighting to liberate their fatherland. Some of their members died in battle; others were trailed and gunned down by BHTs in cold blood for spying on them for the military. The sacrifices have been enormous.

History has etched the name of C-JTF in gold as the civilian troops in   Nigeria’s counter-insurgency war. The huge contributions and sacrifices the C-JTF who staked their necks to assist the military accomplish in decimating BHTs would remain a permanent reference point.

Needless to say, bowing to the superior pressure imposed by truth, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Tukur Buratai is emphatic that “ It is not yet Uhuru” with anti-terrorism war. The remnants of BHT terrorists yet to surrender have taken refuge in various communities.

It pleads to community involvement, cooperation and support. Security as the cliché goes is everybody’s business. And among security breaches, terrorism is apparently the worse.  It imposes a sacred duty on Individuals and groups in every community to continue to sustain its vigilance and, to immediately alert security agents of threat to peace or its likely breach.

If the Northeast is today liberated from the fangs of BHTs, it is because its young and agile youths placed community and national interests above their lives in the quest for salvation.  The reward has been immense, both in the sight of God and humanity.

As mark of appreciation, more than 250, 000 of the C-JTF members have been commissioned into the Nigerian army, as assured by Gen. Buratai. Another 20 of these carriers of bows and arrows have been   recruited into the State Security Service (SSS) to officially become part of the security sentinels of Nigeria.

When the C-JTF recruits into the military paid him a thank-you visit recently, Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima exclaimed in happiness that “The emergence of the Civilian-JTF was a game changer in the fight against Boko Haram.”

Terrorism in the Northeast is a history narrated and, perhaps, forgotten. But it is not the only area Nigeria is facing insecurity crisis. The Northwest is still plagued by the scourge of armed banditry and cattle rustling. The Niger Delta is caged by its own resentful militancy and sounds of its own disastrous bombs. North central Nigeria is under the yoke of herdsmen and farmers clashes in an era the entire globe is ardently preaching global food security.

These communities are not barren of sensible youths, like members of the C-JTF,   who   should frown at the vagaries of man to suddenly become animalistic and beastly. The budding youths of these communities are challenged to emulate the exemplary conduct of the C-JTF by voluntarily rising up to pair with security agents to liberate their   communities from the shackles of destruction by regressive elements.

None of the C-JTF members was prodded into action by anybody or paid a dime for this voluntary service to community.  It was just a patriotic instinct for the love of one’s community.  But today, the Nigerian military’s triumph over Boko Haram in alliance with the C-JTF is a joy shared and relished by every Nigerian. Youths elsewhere could become warriors in their communities by replicating this wonderful and exceptional patriotism.

SOURCE: Charles Ibekwe for threakingtimes news

75,000 Nigerians could starve to death: UN

 
The UN Children's Fund has delivered a dire warning that 75,000 children in Nigeria will die over the next year.

As many as 75,000 children will die in Nigeria over the next year in famine-like conditions created by Boko Haram if donors don't respond quickly, the UN Children's Fund warns.

The severity of malnutrition levels and high number of children facing death make the humanitarian crisis confronting northeastern Nigeria perhaps the worst in the world, according to Arjan de Wagt, nutrition chief for UNICEF in Nigeria.

Most severely malnourished children die of secondary illnesses like respiratory infections, de Wagt told The Associated Press. "But with famine, you actually die of hunger,'' and that is what is happening, he said.

Severe malnutrition is being found in 20, 30 and even 50 per cent of children in pockets of the region, he said.

UNICEF on Thursday doubled the amount of its appeal for Nigeria, saying $US115 million ($A150 million) is needed to save children whose "lives are literally hanging by a thread.'' Only $US24 million ($A31 million) has been raised so far, the agency said.

The lack of money has meant some 750,000 people living in accessible areas could not be helped this year, spokeswoman Doune Porter told the AP.

Most of the estimated 2.6 million people who fled Boko Haram's insurgency are subsistence farmers who have been unable to plant for two years or more.

SOURCE: AAP

What Every Nursing Mother Can Learn From Dr Olaitan About Breasts Sagging

Breast sagging is a natural process that happens to women,it can be as a result of age or breastfeeding where the breasts lose their suppleness and elasticity.

Dr (Mrs) Onayiga Olaitan, Medical Director, Lagos-based Queen of Mercy Medical Centre, talks about this and a lot more with Josephine Agbonkhese of the Vanguard.

On how breastfeeding make the breasts sag

There is a way a woman should breastfeed her baby. If you go through the normal position for breastfeeding, there is the likelihood that the breasts might not sag. However, in majority of women, breastfeeding makes the breast sag. This is because during the process of lactation, the breasts would have enlarged with a lot of milk collection in it. Eventually, after about a year when you have weaned your baby and the breast has to go back to its original size, there is the tendency that it is going to sag because of the space the milk had occupied before. But for some women, the sagging is more likely to happen if they don’t sit properly during breastfeeding; in a way that the child does not have to stretch the breast to feed.

On if bras can help breasts go back to shape after breastfeeding

There is a possibility but it is not to the normal size. What happens in a sagged breast is that the tissues are already loose, so, wearing some bras like the ‘packing’ bras, could actually help to reduce the looseness. As such, we can also reduce the sagging but not bring the breast back to normal totally.

It is advised that while a woman is breastfeeding, she should not leave her breast without bras because during these period, the breast is loose. So, it is better you wear bras so that they help to keep the tissues in the breasts firm. But most women believe wearing a bra while still breastfeeding would weaken milk flow… That is not true.

The mechanism of breastfeeding and breast milk production has nothing to do with bras. When the child puts the mouth to suckle, there are some messages that are sent to some parts of the brain and automatically, you have the release of hormones and the milk automatically comes out. So, the only thing that can impede breast milk’s flow is if the child is not sucking properly. But once the child is sucking properly, whether you wear tight bras or not does not matter; that will even help prevent the breast from getting unnecessarily engorged.

SOURCE: Vanguard

Post Insurgency Reconstruction: Shettima Sleeps In Uba, Another Liberated Stronghold, Tours Pulka, Gwoza, Lassa

Governor Kashim Shettima on Tuesday passed the night in Uba town, once held by Boko Haram in Askira-Uba local government area of southern part of Borno State. The Governor left Bama on Tuesday where he had relocated for nearly one week to mobilize reconstruction works and return of civil authority in the town which was worst hit by the insurgent attacks.

Uba town was put to life when the Governor arrived the Emir’s palace as he was received by obviously happy residents. Governor Shettima inspected destructions by insurgents during their occupation in the town and held meetings with locals towards enhancing community policing.

The Governor also inspected destruction in Lassa, another major town in Askira-Uba local government area during which he inspected houses, at the popular EYN church and gave directive for immediate reconstruction.

Before arriving Uba, Shettima was in Pulka, a populated village in Gwoza local government area during which he interacted with hundreds of returned IDPS. The Governor proceeded to Gwoza which served as a Boko Haram caliphate and inspected destructions before addressing elders and women at separate gatherings. While addressing hundreds at the Palace of the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Mohammed Idrissa Timta  the Governor pledged commitment to ongoing reconstruction works in different parts of Gwoza.

Gwoza is second to Bama local government area that suffered the same fate of destruction before it was declared as Boko Haram Caliphate in August, 2014.

Governor Shettima directed the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Dr. Babagana Umara Zulum to ensure that his ministry align with professional engineers/builders from Gwoza to immediately put the liberated town in good shape for comfort of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who most of them have started returning back home.

“I want to sympathize with you over the unfortunate calamities perpetrated by boko haram in recent past, we are here to tell you that as government, we will do everything possible to rebuild all your destroyed houses brick by brick.

“We have also come with assorted food items including 1500 bags of 25kg rice, 1500 bags of beans, 1000 cartons of suphaghetti, Sugar, salt among other relief items.

“I urge some of the IDPs from Gwoza who are still residing in resettlement camps in Maiduguri and other places to please come back and join you, because, there is no any good place than home.

“I want to thank the federal government and the Chief of Army staff as well as the entire officers and men under the ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ in the north east for their gallantry effort in degrading remnants of boko haram.

“My appeal to you all is to please give maximum support and cooperation to the military and the civilian JTF who are here with you to give you adequate security”. Shettima stated.

SOURCE:NTAng