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Showing posts with label Development News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Development News. Show all posts
Wallpapers give your home a different look. Depending on the design and colour, wallpapers can add life to your living space. Another advantage is that no special skill is required to paste wall papers in your home. Also, they can always be removed when you no longer want them or changed if you want another design or colour.
Just as the colour of walls and curtains have psychological effects on people, so also wallpaper colours. Wallpapers of nature and popular places in the world are advised to use in the guest room as they will make your guests feel as though they are on vacation in some far away location in the world. A blue wallpaper in the bedroom, for instance, can evoke the feeling of being at the beach. They are going to be pasted on the wall anyway, hence covering the colour of the wall. It is the wallpaper people see.
Wallpapers are particularly suited for kitchens and bathrooms where easy clean up is important. In choosing a wallpaper, it’s also important to consider the colours and designs that are best for each room or space. While a large wallpaper of a plate of meal and cutlery might be good for the kitchen or dining room, the living room could use a different design.
In choosing wallpapers, you should also consider the colours of other items – sofa, curtains, rug/carpet – in the room. Choosing the right colour of wallpaper can either complement the already existing colours in the room or create a complete contrast that might not be appealing.
There are different types of wallpapers:
Paintable Wallpaper: This has the ability to cover uneven surfaces and it’s easy to remove. It has a decorative surface and can also be painted over in the colour of your choice.
Removable Wallpaper: This is a great choice if the living space is not permanent; say you’re only renting it for a short period. It’s just as easy to remove from the wall as it is to paste it on.
Nigerians, generally, like to do a lot of comparison with Americans. In fact, we set them as a standard on most issues that bother us; ranging from dressing, lifestyle and to virtually everything.
Well, I also understand it’s not just a Nigerian trend, it’s a worldwide one since the United States of America (USA) is known to be the World Power. Many economies, by finding solace in the ‘supremacy’ of the USA, have not only gotten its military support but also enjoyed its ‘mentor-ship’.
Given the ongoing recession in our dear country, Nigeria, it would as well do us a lot of good to learn from the historical achievements of the USA which has also undergone more serious periods of recession.
First, the recession is caused by the fact that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dropped two consecutive times within a short period and this is widely known to be a result of unfavorable foreign exchange in Nigeria and, in turn, an over-dependence on the Oil industry which has been suffering from sharp decline in oil price.
Since Nigeria depends heavily on the present failing Oil Industry which contributes 70% to government revenue, t
Back to our economic comparison: the contribution of the housing market to the GDP in Nigeria is less than 1 per cent, compared to that of the USA, which accounts for over 80 per cent. This implies that the housing sector in the USA contributes hugely to its success, hence, the drop in international oil prices does little or no harm to its economy. Hence, if you look at Nigeria’s 1 per cent contribution of housing to GDP, imagine what the economy will look like when it is grown to 80 per cent.
he recession could have been expected.
It is, therefore, advisable to use the housing sector as a stimulant to grow the economy thereby increasing its contribution to GDP; and, in turn, to curb the ongoing and likely recession. In fact, the Nigerian economy has a huge chance of booming if there is a sustainable investment into the housing sector to grow it from its dismal one per cent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Therefore, if you’re an investor and looking for lucrative investment areas in Nigeria, don’t overlook the housing sector. More so, if you’re a developer, be informed that this is the right time to build as even the government is beginning to consider the housing sector for diversification.
Finally, home seekers need not worry as the government is working on a collaboration with China for a single digit interest rate mortgage that civil servants can pay.
Finding the right tenant can save you a great deal of time and money. The ideal tenant is one that pays the rent on time and keeps the property in good condition. That is why it’s so important to invest time and energy in finding the right tenant for your house.
Never rush the process
Some landlords/agents just rush and accept any tenant into their house who can pay the money immediately. This tends to happen mostly when the house has been up for rent on the market for a long time. Desperation can trigger a landlord selling to anyone which can cost more in the longer term compared to an empty property.
Research
Ensure you do your due diligence and don’t just dismiss a tenant just because of what you perceive. That person you turned down may just be the best tenant you will never have. Be logical and do your research before you pick a tenant.Don’t be afraid to sound intrusive. You need to confirm a tenant’s ability to pay the rent before you make any decision.
Be flexible
To get the most out of a deal; you have to be flexible. Stick to your plan but be prepared to adjust to also accommodate your tenant preferences.
Take advantage of technology
With the advent of technology, you can advertise your property via social media or a reliable online platform like PropertyPro.ng.
In your listings on social media try to include a nice photo of your house, basic details of the house and your contact information.
Trust your gut
Just because someone has a good job that doesn’t mean that person will be the best tenant. Even the best-paid tenant could vandalize your property. If you are uncomfortable about a potential tenant then it may be advisable to continue your search.
If you want to be a successful real estate agent, there are some things you should never do.In your pursuit to become that favourite agent every homeowner or potential buyer wants to deal with, you should avoid the following things below.
Losing contact after closing a deal
Some agents lose contact after a closing a deal. After working hard to convert leads to clients and getting a successful transaction, it won’t do you any good to lose contact with your clients. Maintaining contact with your clients will earn you lots of referrals as most homeowners prefer doing business with a trusted agent. You can send out ‘thank you’ notes periodically or call them occasionally.
Unorganized information
Retrieving a phone number or an email address might prove to be a difficult task if your client’s information is not organized thereby making follow-up difficult. Always try to organize your data so you can easily access it whenever you want.
Bad investment
Before you invest in any form of marketing, always make sure you do a market survey before investing in any form of marketing. You need to identify the marketing channel where you get the highest numbers of leads, referrals, and clients. When you make these observations, you can reduce spending on some irrelevant areas in order to re-invest it in other profitable areas.
Ignorance of trends in the real estate sector
Regardless of whatever industry you are in, it is always evolving on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis with new laws, techniques, and trends. If you’re not aware of what’s happening in the real estate industry, you will be left behind. All you have to do is educate yourself by reading various publications about real estate, going to workshops or seminars, join a class online and many other educational options to learn from.
Contact me anytime
Agents should never tell a client to contact them anytime especially if you do not mean it. Is it okay for your client to call you on a weekend at 2 am? If your answer is “no”, it’s better to let them know the best times to call, text or email you.
I will read the contract for you, just sign the contract
As real estate agents, you will read a lot of contracts and work closely with lawyers, but you are not a lawyer. An agent should never tell a client to sign any contract that they have not read. Don’t sign a contract unless you have read the contract and had a lawyer review it for you.
In Nigeria, doing the work yourself can save you the significant commission rates many real estate agents charge you but there is the probability that you could end up spending more money than an agent’s commission in the long run. Buying or selling a home is a major financial undertaking. Discover the reasons why you should consider buying a house with a real estate agent below.
The fact that you are working with a professional who has experience in the house buying process will help save your time unlike the time you would waste trying to figure things out on your own.
Who do you think would have the upper hand in a tough offer negotiation: is it a real estate professional with experience or a home-buying newbie who has an emotional attachment to the home? Without an agent, buyers go into negotiations handicapped.
Access To More Property Listings
An experienced real estate agent will provide you with more property listings than you would have had access to if you were searching for it by yourself. With an agent, you get to have varying degrees of properties listed for sale.
Assistance With The Paperwork
Do you enjoy reading through paperwork that goes into buying a home? Paperwork can make the home buying process frustrating especially when you don’t have an agent to assist you. Agents are not lawyers but they are familiar with paperwork for houses, hence, they can assist you during the process.You need not worry about paperwork when you are trying to buy a house with a real estate agent.
Overpaying
Without a real estate agent, you could find yourself at the mercy of a house owner who is eager to exploit your desperation to buy his/her house. An experienced real estate agent would be able to spot when you are been overcharged and ensure that you’re not paying too much for the property involved.
It is unwise to think you can’t be fooled in a real estate transaction while some sellers and buyers are quite honest, there can be some dishonest sellers, agents or buyers. The reality is that the trait of dishonesty is not written on anybody’s forehead instead many of this scammers are criminally minded folks who are taking advantage of the system. Scams in the real estate industry in Nigeria are real but real estate scams are not just a problem peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global issue and there are ways you can protect yourself against being a victim.
So the real question is: how do you know if you’re about to be scammed in a real estate transaction? The truth is you can’t know if you are about to be scammed but there are warning signs and tips you can take to protect yourself against the activities of scammers. Even if you are working with honest people, these are safe ways to approach buying, renting or selling any home.
Don’t rush the buying/renting process
It is quite possible to find a great deal and you most probably want to act quickly so you don’t lose the offer to someone else but the problem with rushing the buying or renting process is that you have little time to question the real estate transaction.
Step on the brakes of excitement and objectively analyse the deal if it seems to good to be true then it is advisable to step back from such transactions. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Verify the person you’re working with in the real estate transaction
Do not take whoever you are working with at face value ensure you do your research about that person. This is the digital age, check the person online, ask for referrals from other people and review their past works.
If your gut feeling tells you something is wrong with the person involved in the real estate transaction, then you need to step back do more research about that person. Don’t work with any person you have no confidence in.
Ask questions
Ensure to ask a lot of questions especially about any unclear issue about the real estate question. Ask the agent the reason for the sale?When there is not a reason for the sale, that can be a red flag. Questions are important because they help reveal inconsistencies in the real estate transactions.
If you spot any inconsistencies that cannot be reconciled then you need to rethink your involvement in the real estate transaction.
Avoid paying cash
If the homeowner or agent is asking you to pay in cash then you should tread carefully of that real estate transaction. The problem with paying in cash is that the money is not traceable unlike paying in a bank instead you insist on writing checks or paying at the bank as this means of payment does not leave you hanging dry if the transaction goes wrong.
You want to be able to hold someone liable when all is not what they seem; so be careful and avoid payments you can’t trace. If the agent or house owner is unyielding about paying in cash, then you need to step back immediately from that transaction.
Email scams
Internet originating scams are not uncommon these days.All the advantages of the digital era have made our life a lot easier, however, they don’t come without harm. When you receive an email that seems suspicious, double check with your agent before taking any actions requested electronically.
Use a reliable source in your search for properties
Online property listing sources such as ToLet.com.ng is a reputable platform to use in finding properties in Nigeria. It is advisable to make use of well know property agency so as not to be duped of one’s hard earned money.
Never skip inspection
A major red flag for any real estate transaction is when the homeowner or agent is trying to discourage you from inspecting the house. If there is nothing suspicious to hide then inspection is not negotiable. Insist on inspection and if not granted by the homeowner or agent then it is advisable to terminate the real estate transaction immediately.
As a general rule, it is always best to refrain from giving out any personal information or bank information over the Internet or phone, especially if the situation doesn’t feel quite right. Have you been involved in a real estate scam before or know someone who has? Kindly share your story with other ToLet readers. Let someone else learn from your story. Drop your comments below.
“The Lagos State Government wednesday approved 15 per cent discount for all owners of properties in the state, which would pay their land use charge between now and April 14.”- This Day
The state government said it would inaugurate Ajah Flyover before May 29, revealing the plan to remove three more roundabouts in Lekki-Ajah corridor to ease vehicular movement.
The state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed the plan to remove three additional roundabouts at the State House, Alausa where he received the Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria, Mr. Jeffrey Ewing and other top management staff members of the oil giant.
Ewing visited the State House alongside the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Esimaje Brikinn and General Manager, Deep Water, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Lanre Kalejaiye, among others.
However, in a statement by the Ministry of Finance yesterday, the state government said it had extended the discount window for the payment of land use charge till April 2017.
He noted that the discount window would allow Lagos residents to further enjoy the discount of 15 per cent, noting that prompt payment of land use charge would make the state excel and its residents enjoy laudable programmes.
He urged residents to desist from payment of tenement rate and ground rent as section 22 of the State Land Use Charge Law, warning that late payment or non-payment of land us charge on an annual basis “would attract accrued penalties and accumulation of arrears.”
It, also, urged all property owners in the state “to take advantage of the extended discount window and ensure payment is made on or before April 4 in order to encourage the government in the delivery of services to the general public.”
When visited by the managing director of Chevron Nigeria, Ambode disclosed the plan to remove three roundabouts along Lekki-Ajah axis from next week in order to solve the challenge of traffic congestion that had become intractable along the corridor.
He added that the action was in line with the resolve of government “to totally eliminate traffic in the axis. The affected roundabouts are Igbo Efon, Chevron and Third roundabouts.”
He explained that the state government had tried as much as possible “to improve on the business environment. The state government would continue to invest in security and infrastructure to make life comfortable for residents and investors.
“We have tried to improve services within the state. The area of operation of Chevron which is the Lekki axis is not left out. Few weeks back, we improved on the traffic management towards that axis. We believe the move would also enhance productivity of the people.”
He ascribed the resolve to remove three additional roundabouts along Lekki-Ajah axis to the impact of the elimination of the first set of roundabouts had, noting that the state government would begin eliminating three roundabouts next week.
“From next week, we will commence the elimination of additional three roundabouts in the axis most especially Chevron, Igbo Efon and Third Roundabout. We believe doing that will totally eliminate traffic in that axis and we hope to also open the Ajah Flyover before the end of May,” Ambode said.
He said the essence of any government “is to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive,” assuring that he would continue to do his best to provide safe and sound environment.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode Thursday promised to deliver the reconstruction of Oshodi-Airport road and Oshodi transport interchange by December this year, citing their strategic significance to traffic management in the state.
The governor equally pledged to compensate all stakeholders, whose buildings were affected during the reconstruction of Oshodi-Airport road, noting that the state government would pay property owners with valid documents soon.
He made the promise yesterday after inspecting Oshodi-Airport road, Oshodi transport, Agege Pen-Cinema flyover, Yaba Model College, Ayinke Maternal & Child Centre and Oworonshoki Lagoon reclamation alongside some top officials of the state.
After the inspection, the governor assured all residents of the state that the strategic projects – Airport road and Oshodi transport interchange – would be delivered by December 2018, asking them to show more understanding.
He explained that the need for quick completion of the road “has become imperative in view of its strategic location as an entry point into Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general. We just saw the progress of work being done on the Airport Road.
“I will like to appeal to all Lagos residents that they should bear with us. As much as possible, we will try to reduce the stress the reconstruction might generate by completing it and the Oshodi interchange by December 2018. This we hope to present to Lagos residents as Christmas gifts,” the governor said.
He, also, assured that all property owners with valid documents would be compensated soon, noting that the buildings that were affected during the reconstruction had been enumerated already and compensation would take off as soon as possible.
Ambode commended the Hitech Construction Company handling Pen-Cinema flyover, noting that with the pace of work, the flyover would be ready by December 2018.
He appealed to residents to bear with the government for the inconvenience being experienced as a result of the construction work, saying the project was designed to change the face of Lagos for good and improve on the economy.
At Oworonshoki, Ambode clarified that contrary to some reports in the media, the lagoon reclamation project was not a housing scheme but part of the overall programme for Lagos to emerge as the entertainment hub for Africa.
The governor explained that the project was designed “to transform the blighted area into major tourism, transportation, and entertainment hubs. 30 hectares land space has so far been reclaimed out of the 50 planned for the scheme.”
“While upon completion, the project would end the perennial flooding in the area, and would also accommodate boutiques hotels, event centers, cinema, clubs, bars, bus terminal, parking space with capacity for about 1000 vehicles, among others.”
At Yaba Model College, the governor said the intention of the state government “is to scale up infrastructure in public schools across the state, starting with commencement of massive rehabilitation of public schools.
“What we see is our new concept of what a model college should look like. That is why we have about 36 classrooms and nine laboratories in this complex alone. Because of the land space here, we do not really have a recreational facility
“But the ones we are building in Ojo and Shomolu have all the necessary recreation facilities that should actually go with a modern secondary school. The idea is that we want to increase the number of model colleges that we have.
“We also want to create a new template of how public secondary school should look like moving forward. This is our own template. This is the way we want to begin with it. We are doing three now. We will move forward next year to expand model colleges in the state.”
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.” — Mark Victor Hansen
At our core, all of us are looking to develop and grow in the four components of wellness: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Each component impacts the other, which means they have an interdependent relationship. Each day, as we make strides and build upon our core, we get stronger, more confident and smarter. We get TOUGHER.
There are a lot of different definitions out there about what “tough” means. Far too often, it is given a negative connotation.Toughness is defined as, “strong and durable; not easily broken or cut; capable of great endurance; sturdy.” Think about that — capable of great endurance. Strong and durable. Aren’t those qualities you’re looking for as you develop into the woman or man you desire to be?
Mentally, we hope to become resolute, committed and confident in our approach to everyday living. Emotionally, while it’s always good to be vulnerable and kind, it’s equally as important to be courageous, faithful and hopeful in the face of fear. Spiritually, getting in touch with what makes us who we are isn’t easy. It takes time. It takes perseverance and endurance through challenging personal battles.
And physically, it’s important to develop our muscles and take good care of the vessel that enables us to navigate this journey called life. People who take excellent care of themselves are tough — they’re able to withstand life’s nicks, scrapes, bumps and bruises. They power through adversity and failures and on to victories.
I’ve spent a lot of time coaching and working with high-achievers and top-performing teams. I’ve led them in an effort to help develop the soft skills, emotional intelligence, identify strengths and weaknesses and enable them to breakthrough and build upon both successes and failures. I’ve found that tough people aren’t born that way — they start out as a proverbial slab of marble and are sculpted into a refined, powerful work of art.
“Life isn’t easy, but you never quit. Never. I may not have been the best, but I can always give my best. That’s how you demonstrate toughness.” — Jay Bilas
A fantastic book was written on the topic by Jay Bilas, a former college and pro basketball player and current analyst. The eponymous title, Toughness, explores the ways in which we can all grow, develop and become tougher to succeed. I decided to extract the most value I could from his book and my experience in coaching high-performers, and synthesized it here for you to understand.
I think you’ll find these 7 principles will change your life and are applicable to every one of us. I paraphrased some of Bilas’ points and illustrate how we can develop toughness and live life on our terms.
1. Work so Hard that You Have to Rest
The world’s most successful people preach about the value of meditation and getting a proper night’s sleep. We all have to rest. Our rest and daily reset should come after we’ve challenged ourselves and given every ounce of ourselves to working for our daily goals. Give your absolute best to every task in front of you. And give your best to your parents, husbands, wives and children, too.
Maximize your output in all of your opportunities and relationships.
2. Finish What You’ve Started
One of the most common threads in why some people don’t feel fulfilled in their personal and professional lives is very simple: they get started on something and fail to finish. Think about it — what’s the point in that? The defining characteristic of every high achiever is that they finish what they’ve started. They either accomplish a task, reach a goal, or abandon course for a wiser, better alternative.
3. Focus with Determination on the Task at Hand
Multi-tasking, while very appealing, DOESN’T WORK. Don’t believe me? Take this from the Cleveland Clinic:
The neuroscience is clear: We are wired to be mono-taskers. One study found that just 2.5 percent of people are able to multitask effectively. And when the rest of us attempt to do two complex activities simultaneously, it is simply an illusion.
You’re growing and getting tougher when you focus with every ounce of concentration on what you’re doing in that moment. 4. Encourage Yourself and Encourage Others Who Work With You
This is straight out of the Dale Carnegie (of How to Win Friends and Influence People fame) playbook: Encourage the people around you, celebrate their wins and congratulate them on their success. But guess what? Do the same thing for yourself! Positive thought encouragement enables us to power through adversity and challenging tasks, leading us to triumph and victory. When you are genuinely self-motivated and encouraging to others, you are a person that will keep moving forward. And everyone wants to be around that person.
“Failing doesn’t make you a failure. Failing makes you a competitor. Every competitor fails. If you lay it on the line, you will come up short at times. Failure is a part of competing, and embracing that fact is an important component of toughness. Tough people fail, but tough people are not failures. The only failures are those who give up, or give in.” — Jay Bilas
5. Be Alert to Change in Your Life — and Change all Around You
As John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Change is unavoidable. It’s always coming for us, seeking us out whether we run, hide or embrace it. So be alert. Be alert to new opportunities. Be alert to ways you can build upon your successes, and likewise how to learn from your defeats.
6. Take Responsibility — Own Your Words and Actions
You want a surefire way to fail? Blame other people for your words and actions. Make excuses and refuse to take ownership. Deny responsibility and pass the buck to someone else. Those are the marks of a person that no one wants to work with. And if you’re seeking self-employment or entrepreneurship, you would be wise to correct this before you begin any prospective venture.
It starts with you. You will make tremendous strides in life, endure when others falter and continue growing when you accept responsibility in good times and bad. Forge ahead with a winner’s mindset. Winners are tough and always accountable for what they say and do.
7. Have One Fixed Objective— Get Better Every Day
If you’re struggling to determine what your passion, purpose, mission, definition of success or goals are, please let me remind you to start with this very simple objective: Get better every day. You have the time. Read one chapter in a book to learn a new skill. Jump rope for 10 minutes to increase your cardiovascular fitness. Spend 10 minutes in mindfulness meditation that allows you to think clearly about what’s most important in your life.
Write a small journal entry about your feelings, what moves you and what inspires you. All of these things take a little amount of time. All of them can be accomplished with minimal investment. And all of them will begin forming the compounding effect of helping you to improve and get better each day. Toughness is a prized quality among the most happy and successful people. Go on, you’re a lot tougher than you think.
You Can Do This Join my newsletter and let me know if you’d like to work together as you build each day toward living the life you truly want. Let’s GO!
Happy days are here for all the land owners and intending ones in Lagos as the Lagos State House of assembly passed into law a bill to battle the Omo onile also known as land grabbers. This bill which was passed yesterday prohibits forceful entry and illegal occupying of landed property in the state.
According to Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, a clean copy of the bill has been forwarded to the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode for his assent by Mr. Azeez Sanni, the acting Clerk of the House. This was done after the Bill had gone through the Third Reading and passed by a voice vote of all members present at plenary session.
What does this mean for landed property investors and owners?
No more forceful land take-over, entry by force, illegal occupying of property, illegal use of Law enforcement agents, encroaching with a weapon, sales of property without authority and professional misconduct among others. According to the provisions of the bill offenders can now face a maximum and minimum of 21 and 5 years imprisonment, there are also various fine impositions for such persons.
In the year 2013, the wealthiest black man on the planet, a Nigerian teeming with foresight, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, announced plans to build a refinery. Recently the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor was taken on a tour of the project by Dangote. Several media houses were in attendance. Here is some of what we learned:
Over $4 billion worth of equipment currently sits on the site.
The project is slated to cost $14 billion (N2.8 trillion) of which Dangote is contributing $7 billion in equity.
The project site is larger than Victoria Island. It is located on 2135 hectares of land in Epe, Lagos near the Lekki Free Zone
It is the largest industrial complex in Africa
Work goes on, on the site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
World Record 2.72 million accident free hours recorded on site, without a single lost time to injuries
It is the largest single train grass roots refinery in the world with a processing capacity of 650,000 BPSD
Dangote Group brought in the world’s #1, #2, and #5 sand dredgers to sand fill the site. 60% of the land being swampy. So far these dredgers have reclaimed 13 million m³ out of 30 million m³
During construction, the project will employ over 25,000 Nigerians
Dangote is investing over $7 billion (N1.4 trillion) in the project
It is the largest single train refinery project on the planet
When this project comes online, Nigeria will save a minimum of $10 billion a year on imports
The Ammonia component of the plant will produce 2.8 million tonnes of Urea
Dangote is producing its own electricity to power the plant and by so doing is saving 75% costs. Dangote produces electricity at a rate that is significantly cheaper than the Federal Government. Dangote’s cost is $400,000/MW, while Federal Government is $2,000,000/MW
All the civil engineering is done by Nigerian companies
The plant has an export value of $6 billion per annum, meaning Dangote’s efforts will increase the amount of foreign exchange in Nigeria’s foreign reserves by at least 40% of current value on a yearly basis
Dangote said when this project comes on line, his friend Femi Otedola will save at least N26 per litre on millions of litres of diesel and petrol which his companies import annually. This savings will be passed on to the consumers and it will take a lot of pressure off the banks
Billions of Naira were paid to acquire the land and to settle the existing communities. More money was also allocated and spent to relocate the existing communities
This project will restore the dignity of Nigeria, a crude producing country that has for years gone abroad to meet its demand for refined products
Refined products to be produced at the plant include but is not limited to propane, petrol, Jet Fuel, Diesel, Kerosene, Carbon Black, Polypropylene, Polyethylene
The United States Trade and Development Agency is supporting this project with $997 million
Well, it’s going to be hard to regulate Facebook when politicians know less about how social media works than their grandkids do.
That was one of the biggest takeaways of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance on April 10 before both the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to discuss data privacy and Russian disinformation. And this is especially so when ignorance on the political side allows the chairman and chief executive officer of Facebook to look like a helpful and earnest young’un who just wants senior citizens to be comfortable in the oh-so-confusing and complicated digital age.
Sadly, these illustrative headlines aren’t clickbait:
“‘Senator, I Think We Already Do’: Zuckerberg’s Interrogation Turns into Tech Support” (Vanity Fair)
“Lawmakers seem confused about what Facebook does — and how to fix it” (Vox)
“A Bunch of Senators Just Showed They Have No Idea How Facebook Works. They Want to Regulate It Anyway” (Reason)
Much of the conversation during the hearing was disappointing political theater, because the inquiry itself had a terrible structure. Design, in technology and procedure alike, can confer power to some and take it from others. So, what happens when you give a group of senators less than five minutes each to ask questions in the course of a single day and every reason to personally grandstand with little incentive to interrogate collaboratively and build upon one another’s concerns? Apart from outlier superstars, like California Senator Kamala Harris’s round of questioning — voilà — a preordained result with “no room for follow-ups, no chance for big discoveries and many frustratingly half-developed ideas.”
The scorecard has been well documented, and the record clearly reflects who did what and who should have done more. But what we should give further thought to are the powerful public reactions people felt while the drama unfolded and the conflicts they experienced about how to express them.
There has been plenty of powerful and insightful reporting and shared opinion on Zuckerberg’s testimony, and the credible sources I’ve been reading aren’t pulling punches in demanding accountability. Crucially, none have resorted to mockery.
It was a different story on Twitter, though, when people were reacting to the hearing in real time. There was serious debate over whether it’s appropriate for reporters to shame members of Congress for knowing so little about technology.
(I’m not going to insert tweets or hyperlinks to them. Yes, I know it’s a commonplace practice and a simple way of illustrating your point. But cherry-picking tweets risks distortion by taking them out of context — violating their contextual integrity. And doing so without asking the authors for permission threatens their privacy by obscurity. So I’m just going to contextualize the remarks expressed there. If you want to do your own fact-checking, you can search Twitter. In my opinion, the added transaction cost, small as it is, makes all the ethical difference.)
Team Civility
There are good reasons to support the folks who were upset over politicians not knowing enough about technology, but who insisted, nevertheless, that the concerns be expressed politely. Conversations about moral failings are themselves morally appraisable since they are first and foremost about people. Arguably, even if members of Congress deserve to be strongly rebuked for being unprepared civil servants, they still are worthy of being corrected in a manner that conveys a modicum of respect, because they aren’t just politicians, but human beings, too.
From this perspective, members of Congress are inherently fallible, just like the rest of us, and worthy of the modest protections that civil discourse offers. Indeed, it could be argued that during a time where trolling and closed-minded outrage is tearing the country apart, it’s imperative to treat the people we disagree with and are disappointed by with a level of decorum to avoid further degrading the public sphere.
This position also has practical support. Nobody likes to be mocked. And so, mocking politicians is a surefire way to give them an excuse to tune out and continue on with their bad behavior.
And let’s not forget that the hearing was taking place for the whole country to watch. Perhaps some of the seemingly ignorant remarks should be viewed in a more charitable way. Clearly, lots of people are unsure about aspects of how Facebook works. The company’s black-boxed algorithms, constantly shifting policies, and questionable terms of service keep so many of us in the dark. Perhaps getting Zuckerberg to publicly explain things that some of us find remedial actually helped improve other people’s digital literacy.
Legal Considerations
Focusing too intently on what politicians don’t know about technology can distract us from other important matters. Danielle Citron, the Morton & Sophia Macht professor of law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law,, told me that, yes, mocking lawmakers for lacking technical expertise might underscore that they and their staff writing the questions are not knowledgeable enough to move the debate forward.
“On the other hand, there were some effective points raised, so ‘talking tech’ may be overrated. I was personally stunned at lawmakers’ demonstrated lack of ignorance of the law and legal concepts. Even Ted Cruz, who served as Texas solicitor general, had little to no understanding of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,” said Citron. “He suggested that Section 230 was adopted in order to ensure that online services acted like neutral public fora. That is the opposite of what Congress was endeavoring to do — to encourage private actors to block or filter content. And lawmakers took Mark Zuckerberg to task for their own failure to write the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) to cover 13 to 16-year-olds. I was not disappointed by their lack of tech savvy but, instead, their legal ignorance.”
The problem of politicians playing fast and loose with the law is just the tip of the iceberg when comes to regulating technology. The loss of institutions like the Office of Technology Assessment has been profound and can’t be made up for by expecting members of Congress to develop expertise in technology. Outputs generated by complex algorithms might very well be beyond the scope of scrutiny by human experts. And, as has been widely remarked, innovation moves quickly, while law is designed to be a slower institution, steeped in tradition and governed by careful deliberation. Outdated conceptions of technology limit the judicial imagination and persist through worn-out metaphors that negatively impact legal reasoning in matters increasingly important to us now, such as robots, cyberspace, and privacy. The Limits of Politeness
But back to how we express our outrage. The alternative position, that members of Congress should be thoroughly lambasted, also has merits. For starters, members of Congress are public officials and arguably should be held to different standards of discourse than nonpublic figures, who aren’t responsible for matters relating to the public good in the same way. Perhaps discourse ethics is contextual and shouldn’t be applied in cookie-cutter fashion.
“[Politicians] have a duty … to be acquainted with the basic operations of the most powerful forces and institutions that are shaping our nation.”
Think about Alec Baldwin’s satirical depictions of the president on “Saturday Night Live.” You can be a fan without believing it’s acceptable to make fun of everyone. To treat Baldwin’s political commentary the same as presidential candidate Donald Trump mocking a reporter with a disability would be to commit the fallacy of false equivalence.
As a related example, I want to tell you about one of the most memorable experiences that I’ve had as a college professor. One day, an engineering major began his in-class criticism of an assigned article — which was written by a respected professional philosopher — by saying something like, “In this idiotic essay, the author claims…” I questioned whether this was an appropriate way to frame the rejoinder, asking “Wouldn’t it be better to convey your disagreement in a more congenial way, so that if the author were ever presented with your concerns, he would be inclined to take them seriously?”
The answer I received left me nearly speechless. The student explained that during critiques, his engineering professors would convey what he was doing wrong in harsh terms that depicted both the doer and deed in an unflattering light. Instead of finding this treatment insulting or wishing that the fault-finding was more delicately put, the student was inspired by the lack of filter. He more or less said that if the professors had blunted their views with nicer rhetoric, he wouldn’t be constantly sensitized to the gravity of mistakes in his field and would instead be more motivated to work hard to avoid making them. Since the stakes could amount to nothing less than life and death when he graduated, he was sincerely grateful.
The position that mockery is justified can be furthered bolstered by an additional consideration related to the high stakes of failing to regulate Facebook in the right way. Facebook has been repeatedly criticized for its conduct throughout the years, and yet its user base keeps growing. Indeed, Facebook’s stock rose during the hearing, which can be interpreted as a sign that Zuckerberg, not regulators, won the day. (Fortunately, Facebook’s campaign contributions “didn’t necessarily correlate to the hostility of questions asked by the legislators,” as this would be another reason to despair for democracy.)
Thus, it could be said that being polite runs the risk of failing to convey a level of moral outrage that’s appropriate to the situation. Using toned-down rhetoric risks becoming a complicit force that helps normalize the status quo and all of its problems.
I spoke with Shannon Vallor, the William J. Rewak, S.J. professor in the department of philosophy at Santa Clara University, about the situation, since she wrote the definitive book about the relation between technology and virtue.
Vallor thinks we shouldn’t have to resort to public shaming to get our representatives to fulfill their duties, but that it fits into a pattern as constructive channels of civic discourse are shutting down.
“Mockery is not the most constructive response to that failure; in an ideal community of virtuous citizens, we would reproach one another in a less cruel fashion. However, we must admit that our democracy has, in the last few decades, fallen further and further away from the ideals of civic virtue. Our representatives have become increasingly immune to reasoned public critique; many now avoid town hall meetings with their critics, foster public distrust of media voices, and generally fail to engage in any substantive discussion of how well or poorly Congress is doing its job.
“So, with so many of our representatives ignoring the norms and virtues of responsible leadership and civic discourse, it is perhaps understandable that the quality of criticism they receive becomes more crude, desperate, and less constructive.”
We need a new movement for constructive civic debate, Vallor said, and maybe a new kind of public servant as well.
“While we shouldn’t expect our elected representatives to all share a deep knowledge of technical and scientific matters, they all do have a duty to their constituents to be acquainted with the basic operations of the most powerful forces and institutions that are shaping our nation,” Vallor said.
“Especially when they are tasked with regulating those forces and institutions to the degree necessary to protect the public interest.”
Perhaps putting Zuckerberg in the hot seat allowed the U.S. version of democracy on trial more than Facebook. Zuckerberg says he won’t face the music overseas in front of a U.K. parliamentary committee, but what we saw this week raises difficult questions about our lawmakers and ourselves.
When Adobe Photoshop first debuted, it looked like magic. The ability to seamlessly alter photos gave graphic designers a life-changing tool, but it wasn’t long before users started to use the product for more nefarious purposes. As recently as last year, for example, a photo of NFL player Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks appearing to be holding a burning flag in the team’s locker room went viral, even though it had merely been Photoshopped.
By now, Photoshop (and “Photoshopping,” it’s adapted verb version) has become shorthand for speaking about any manipulated photo. The way the term has woven itself into our everyday language demonstrates how widespread our understanding that images can be easily digitally manipulated has become. People are often willing to point out and accept that a photo has been altered. (Though, as the Bennett photo demonstrates, there are still exceptions to the rule, and many who are still fooled.)
What happens when Photoshop (or programs like it) becomes so advanced that it’s nearly impossible to spot a fake? What if there wasn’t a way to easily point out that something had been doctored or substantially altered because only a minority of people knew the manipulation was even possible? This is the case with Adobe VoCo, a program that allows users to edit voices — and not just the pitch or speed, but also what someone has said. Beyond just rearranging words in a voice recording, Adobe VoCo can make a person “say” something they never said at all.
Image: Adobe Creative Cloud/YouTube
Demonstrated in late 2016, the program is billed as “Photoshop for voice,” and part of the demonstration showed how to alter a voice recording of Keegan-Michael Key, of Key & Peele fame. It seamlessly shifted the order of words within the recording, in addition to adding new words to it.
In a matter of minutes, “I kissed my dogs and my wife” became “I kissed Jordan three times.”
The quality of the alteration, unlike more rudimentary methods of manually splicing vocal recordings, can make it hard to catch. The recording was changed merely by uploading the clip into VoCo, which then displayed the words being said under the vocal recording. All the user has to do is move words around or type in additional ones.
Predictably, the audience met the demo with cheers and applause, while Jordan Peele, who was emceeing the event, jokingly declared, “You’re a demon!”
Image: Adobe Creative Cloud/YouTube
VoCo takes in large amounts of voice data and breaks it into the distinct sounds that make up spoken language, collectively known as phonemes, before creating a voice model of whoever is recorded. If a word isn’t already in the recording, then the program will use these phonemes to create it from scratch.
There are numerous uses for such technology, most obviously in podcasting, given their increasing popularity over the past decade. From 2008 to 2015, the number of podcasts on iTunes rose by 50,000; over the same time period, listeners increased from 9 percent of the American public to 17 percent, according to MarTech, a marketing research website. Audio editing is a tedious process that could likely be made much easier with a program like VoCo. Software like this would also make it easier for amateurs to get into podcasting without needing extensive production experience or training.
As with many content-manipulation technologies, over the initial applause and adulation loom questions about the way such tech could easily be used to cause harm and spread fake news.
“One of the main fears of this kind of technology, where you can augment audio, is really about how can that be used in war,” says Joan Donovan, the media manipulation and platform accountability lead at the Data and Society Research Institute, which examines the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric and automated technologies.
“You can imagine in the midst of a breaking news event something like this being used to pretend there is a leak, that someone is making a death threat against a public figure, or that so-and-so has called for an invasion. There are all kinds of ways that this technology, if people don’t readily know it’s available, could be weaponized against the public,” Donovan says.
Consider something like War of the Worlds, Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast from 1938, which was so convincing that it caused some to panic, believing that an alien invasion was not fiction but, in fact, breaking news. Imagine Adobe VoCo taking the voice of a nation’s president and having them announce something equally as alarming over the airwaves.
Unlike Photoshop, programs such as Adobe VoCo aren’t widely known, which makes people more susceptible to them. If you described Adobe VoCo to a friend, perhaps they might say they could imagine it, but would they know it already exists? And that it’s practically on the market?
These kind of voice alterations could allow anyone to improve upon classic phishing campaigns—say, requesting someone’s password while pretending to be a family member or a boss. If you wanted to create a widespread false-information operation, the software could be used to spread fake audio clips. Or it could be used simply to harass people. Journalists regularly receive threatening emails — what if those were phone calls or voicemails that appeared to be from friends or acquaintances? Some of our more secure institutions, such as banks, use voice verification as a part of their security. Imagine if Donald Trump claimed the damning audio of him bragging to Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women had been digitally altered?
Researchers like Donovan have put together the digital tools needed to go back and see when, where, and how certain images have been manipulated. But she characterizes it as a losing game, because they’ll always lag behind the most recent technology. Widespread tools for identifying falsified speech are the next hill to climb.
Some biometric security companies believe they’re ready for this wave of technology, however, as more companies (including Google’s DeepMind audio-mimicking system WaveNet) move into this security space.
“The technology is new, but its underlying principles have been understood for some time,” Steven Murdoch, a cybersecurity researcher from University College London, told the BBC. “Biometric companies say their products would not be tricked by this because the things they are looking for are not the same things that humans look for when identifying people. But the only way to find out is to test them, and it will be some time before we know the answer.”
Adobe also seems well aware of the risks involved. The company has not yet released a beta of VoCo for download, and as of late 2017, it was still testing and developing the program. At the initial demo, Adobe’s presenter explained potentially using audio watermarks, a unique electronic identifier embedded in a recording and often used to identify who has ownership of copyright, to demonstrate whether an audio clip had been edited.
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