COVID-19 AND LAGOS RESPONSE by ASAKE OBALAKUN

As the world continue to groan under the weight of pressure from COVID-19 effects, Sub – Sahara African countries are emerging as medical power house in the fight against the pandemic disease that is giving the medical circle a run for their money.

In Nigeria, different reception has greeted the emergence of the disease on one side, some state governor’s proactive moves have started yielding results with some now battling to save face while on the other, citizens are pitched between religious activities or lockdown or the existence and non- existence of the virus.

The state of Lagos fall into the category of states that have made proactive moves to curb the spread and eventual eradication of the disease through provision of isolation centres, distribution of face masks and public orientation on social distancing among others.

Having put all these in place, why then is the number of COVID-19 cases in Lagos increasing?

One of the possible reason is non-disclosure of symptoms by COVID-19 carrier. Several cases have been recorded at LUTH, Lagos, LASUTH where Carrier only when their case became positive or test revealed their COVID-19 status. This cover up has exposed many medical personnel, the general public un necessarily before the case was detected. In most cases, contact tracing came through late as it would have spread to second or third person transmission. Stigmatization, which has been pointed as reason for the earlier devow is now being centered by the state government with state – wide sensitization.

Inadequate personal protective equipment at the early stage of combating the disease exposed medical health workers to the disease. Nationwide, one hundred and thirteen health workers representing 5.21% of total cases in Nigeria 2,170 have tested positive to the virus. This trend thing has improve drastically, especially in lagos, preventive measures are never enough.

Bed space is presently competing with number of active cases. Report recently suggest that that suspected cases we’re turned back due to lack of bed space at governance isolation Centre at Yaba. The state government laudable efforts may be hampered by this development. Where will turn down suspected cases go, who will they mingle with?

Already, many general hospital in lagos have high standards as without much cost can be converted to isolation centres. These will bring isolation centres and COVID-19 treatment closer to the people as well as increase the number of bed space in the state.
Effective lock-down should be mandatory in lagos. Borders leading in and out of the state should be closed to curb movement larger and possible spread of the virus in the state. Security agencies need to be up and accounted for. Bribe and kickbacks twants government efforts and the country fight to win the COVID-19 war. General public should make use of face masks. Report suggest that face mask usage protect livelihood of infection up to 90% hence it performance.

Continuous lock-down is no doubt destroying the economy, with no feasible income, companies are looking at alternatives to cut cost, small and medium entrepreneur business are having difficult times staying in business while daily businesses are dead a day after lockdown was announced.

To give succor to the populace, palliatives were promised but lack of adequate data are identification system were sighted as one of the reasons this could not be achieved. Two weeks into lock-down, while citizens cry out due yo hunger, increase in crime rate we’re witnessed across the state.
To revive the economy however, federal and state government have rolled out plans to reopen the economy with some essential services ( both in informal and formal sectors) open for some hours.

It’s high time that all Lagosians work hand in hand in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 in Lagos state and the world at large.

To Handle Increased Stress, Build Your Resilience

Wherever you live or work, stress is on the rise. According to the International Labour Organization, workers in developed and developing countries are facing increasing strain at work. The onslaught of mounting stressors include global challenges, such as climate change, terrorism, and political turmoil – as well as personal and professional challenges, such as illnesses, job changes, and organizational restructuring.

How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful than You by Amy Gallo

Your boss proposes a new initiative you think won’t work. Your senior colleague outlines a project timeline you think is unrealistic. What do you say when you disagree with someone who has more power than you do? How do you decide whether it’s worth speaking up? And if you do, what exactly should you say?

What the Experts Say
It’s a natural human reaction to shy away from disagreeing with a superior. “Our bodies specialize in survival, so we have a natural bias to avoid situations that might harm us,” says Joseph Grenny, the coauthor of Crucial Conversations and the cofounder of VitalSmarts, a corporate training company. “The heart of the anxiety is that there will be negative implications,” adds Holly Weeks, the author of Failure to Communicate. We immediately think, “He’s not going to like me,” “She’s going to think I’m a pain,” or maybe even “I’ll get fired.” Although “it’s just plain easier to agree,” Weeks says that’s not always the right thing to do. Here’s how to disagree with someone more powerful than you.

How small businesses can maximise social media, Smoothie Case Study

Some social media web and apps include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, WhatsApp etc are unique and applicable in their own ways to small businesses. There are billions of people on social media web and apps every day and small businesses can take advantage of this.

Facebook and Instagram are photo and video-sharing social media applications used for networking and a platform for small to large businesses to engage customers and potential customers with photos and videos of their products and services.

CBN tasks MFBs on 64 new customers monthly

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all Microfinance Banks (MFBs) operating in the country to acquire 64 new customers per month.

The directive follows the revised national financial inclusion target that aims at accelerating progress towards the achievement of 80 percent financial inclusion target by the year 2020.

In a letter to all microfinance banks on the revised national financial inclusion target, Tokunbo Martins, director, other financial intuitions supervision department, noted that the CBN held a stakeholders’ forum for all financial service providers in the six geo-political zones in the first and second quarters of 2019 which was attended by representatives of the MFBs. The objective of the forum was to expose stakeholders in the financial inclusion agenda.

Nigeria’s OneFi secures $5m debt facility for its Paylater mobile platformBy Daniel Mpala on 8 March, 2019

Lagos based finance company OneFi today announced that is has secured a $5-million debt facility from New York and Nairobi-based debt platform Lendable.

In a statement today (8 March), OneFi said the investment will be used to deploy more loans on its consumer facing mobile platform Paylater. The platform also helps users transfer money, recharge airtime and pay bills.

CBN sets N50m capital for Tier 2 microfinance banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a Tier-based system for unit microfinance banks in the country.

The apex bank also adjusted the time frame given to the different categories of microfinance banks to recapitalise.

The different categories are the unit, state and national operators.

In a circular to all microfinance banks released on Monday on the ‘Review of minimum capital requirement for microfinance banks in Nigeria,’ the CBN reviewed a circular it had earlier issued to the microfinance banks on October 22, 2018.

The CBN stated that the Tier 2 unit microfinance banks must have a minimum capital of N50m, while Tier 1 would maintain the N200m minimum capital introduced for unit microfinance banks in October 2018.