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ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT: KEY TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

2021-03-28T22:22:00.000+01:00

Written by: UKEJE, Chukwudike Chukwunenye

This essay is one of the winning essays at the 2020 Bible society of Nigeria - NYSC annual essay competition. While I was writing my essay last year, I read a previous winning entry on your website. Having participated and won, I deemed it worthwhile to send in my winning entry for publication (on rexchimex.com) for others to benefit as well. - Ukeje.CC.

Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro

Email of Corresponding Author: ukejechukwudike5@gmail.com

Phone: +2348163662098

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ABSTRACT

Over the years, policymakers and researchers have tried to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial development and economic growth. A lot of studies have shown a positive relationship between entrepreneurial development and economic development vis-à-vis poverty alleviation, employment generation, and wealth creation. With the recent coronavirus pandemic popularly known as COVID-19, many countries are shifting focus to policies that encourage entrepreneurship development as a strategy to ameliorate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Nigeria, several policies and programs aimed towards entrepreneurial development have been implemented in time past, however, most of these programs and policies failed to achieve their major formulation goals. Drawing from empirical and theoretical literatures, and with the use of biblical references, this paper tries to examine the state of entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. The paper contends that more efforts need to be geared towards entrepreneurial development in the country. It identified some of the major factors that constrain entrepreneurial development in Nigeria, as well as highlighting creative solutions and smart financing proposals through which entrepreneurial development can be achieved, as this will help ensure sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria within the post-COVID future.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial development, Economic growth, Economic development, COVID-19, Nigeria.

1. INTRODUCTION

All over the world, the concept of entrepreneurship is seen as a veritable tool that can be leveraged on to facilitate economic growth and development across economies. In recent times, entrepreneurship as a field of study and as a human endeavour has attracted a lot of interest from researchers and policymakers across the globe. Entrepreneurship development, having a direct linkage to economic development, is considered an effective means to facilitate rapid economic growth in both developed and developing economies (Schumpeter, 1934; Harper, 1991).

Owing to increasing interest among researchers in the field of entrepreneurship, a lot of definition and concept has evolved over the years in defining the term “entrepreneurship”. While Schumpeter (1934) sees entrepreneurship from the point of value creation and considers an entrepreneur as a risk-taking innovator who facilitates economic development through the process of creative destruction that renders old ideas obsolete while replacing them with new ones, Hamza (2013) considers entrepreneurship as an act or process of starting a business haven identified business opportunities, organization of resources, and management

Presently, there is a dire need for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria more than ever before. This is necessitated by the huge unemployment rate in the country and its concomitant effect on the people and economy of the nation. According to the United Nations World Population Prospect (2019), Nigeria’s population was estimated at over 200 million. Prior to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2019 report placed the unemployment rate in Nigeria at 23.1 percent. With the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy, which affected most businesses and triggered a lot of workers layoffs in many sectors, there is no single doubt that the unemployment rate in the country has further increased.

As duly noted in the bible in the book of Ecclesiastes 10:18, which says “by much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through”. In relation to this verse, the unemployment rate in Nigeria, if left unabated, will gradually degenerate to adverse socio-economic havoc. Since entrepreneurship development can initiate economic growth while adequately combating unemployment and its adverse effects, it becomes critically important to examine some of the governmental efforts geared towards entrepreneurship development in Nigeria so as to identify loopholes militating against entrepreneurial development, and subsequently highlight solutions and financing strategies for achieving effective entrepreneurial development in the country.

2. ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: PAST AND PRESENT

Over the years, Nigeria has experienced a serious unemployment crisis. The unemployment crisis in the country has resulted in high prevalence rate of crimes which includes but not limited to insurgences, militancy, arm robbery, drug abuse, and mass murder. The Nigerian government is not oblivion to the negative offshoots of unemployment in the country. Thus, to abate unemployment, the government, over the years, has put in place policies and programs aimed at entrepreneurship development in order to create employment opportunities and economic growth while alleviating poverty. Some of the major entrepreneurship development programs initiated by the government from past to present are examined below:

i. Small and Medium Industry Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS):

Established in December 1999, by the bankers' committee to enhance the promotion of small and medium enterprise; the Small and Medium Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS) mandates all commercial bank in Nigeria to set aside 10% of their profit after tax for investment in small and medium enterprises (Central bank of Nigeria, 2003). However, as duly noted by Idam (2014), the SMIEIS failed to achieve its major formulation goals owing to lack of national spread in utilization, as Lagos state took about 42% of the monetary amount set aside for the scheme while a majority of other states of the federation had little or nil investment.

ii. Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN):

Established in 2003 by the small and medium enterprises development agency act of 2003. SMEDAN was established to stimulate, monitor, and coordinate the development of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria by articulating and formulating policies and programs to facilitate the development of small and medium scale industries. Nonetheless, Idam (2014) argues that SMEDAN has not impacted the entrepreneurship landscape in Nigeria significantly owing to low awareness.

iii. NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (NYSC-SEAD):

The Nigerian Youth Service Corp Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (NYSC-SEAD) program was established in 2012 to coordinate efforts towards empowering corps members in the country to become budding entrepreneurs after their service year. The program was introduced to train youth corps members in various entrepreneurship and vocational skills in response to the growing unemployment concern in the country. Although there have been some success stories from the NYSC-SEAD program, however, one of the major setbacks to the program is the fact that only a few estimable corps members take serious interests in the program (Ogbaga, 2018).

iv. Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWIN):

YouWIN was one of the initiatives of the past government aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial development in the country. The program entails an innovative business plan competition aimed at job creation by encouraging and supporting young entrepreneurs to come up with and execute innovative business ideas. The YouWIN entrepreneurship development program circumspectly identified grassroots entrepreneurs, but the program eventually became a victim of inconsistent government policies as it was discontinued after the inauguration of the present government.

v. TraderMoni: TraderMoni is one of the present entrepreneurship development efforts made by the current government to facilitate easy credit access to entrepreneurs. The program which is part of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP) scheme, was created specifically to provide interest-free loans to petty traders and artisans across the country. TraderMoni, no doubt, has aided in driving economic benefit for small scale traders across the country, nevertheless, the sustainability of the program is in doubt as it may soon become obsolete with the election of a new government.

3. CONSTRAINTS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

From the entrepreneurial development programs examined above, it is lucid that the Nigerian government through the years have made some efforts towards promoting entrepreneurship development through the initiation of these various programs. However, most of these programs as elaborated had inherent loopholes which consequently hampered their potentials in solving the targeted problems. Furthermore, these entrepreneurial development programs and policies do not necessarily tackle all the fundamental problems and challenges hindering entrepreneurship development in the country, hence, it becomes imperative at this juncture to identify some of the major factors militating against entrepreneurial development in Nigeria.

3.1. Lack of Financial Capital

Lack of financial capital to start up a business idea or to expand an already existing business is one of the fundamental constraints to entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Anyadika et al. (2012) identified undercapitalization as one of the major challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Most young people in Nigeria with viable business ideas find it difficult to secure loans because of collateral involvement and the bureaucratic process involved in securing loans from commercial banks in Nigeria. Even when they are able to secure the loans, paying back the loaned amount becomes a problem owing to the ‘throat-cutting’ interest rates charged by commercial banks in the country.

3.2. Poor Managerial Skill

The holy Bible succinctly noted in the book of Hosea 4: 6 that “my people perish due to lack of knowledge…” In the same vein, most entrepreneurial ventures in Nigeria today fail because of inadequate knowledge on how to run a business on the side of the entrepreneur. Poor managerial, leadership, organizing, planning, and execution skills are some of the major hindrances to most business growth in Nigeria, which consequently result in poor economic outcomes for such businesses.

3.3. Hostile Business Environment

Hostile business environments is another factor that deters people from pursuing entrepreneurial ventures in certain location across the country. An unfriendly business environment hinders both entrepreneurial and economic development. For example, since the Boko-Haram insurgence in north-eastern Nigeria, a lot of entrepreneurs have lost their businesses and source of livelihood, while investors barely consider investing in businesses within the region. More so, the high cost of doing business in Nigeria occasioned by multiple taxations, high incorporation cost, business permit cost, legal and professional fees, all add up to create a heavy financial burden on small scale businesses, which more often than not, hamper the survival of such emerging small businesses.

3.4. Bribery and Corruption

The high rate of corruption in Nigeria poses a serious threat to small and medium scale industry development. Most of the public funds allocated to facilitate the development of small and medium scale entrepreneurial ventures in the country end up being diverted to private pockets (Ojo and Oluwatayo, 2015). Transparency International 2019 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) placed Nigeria 140^th out of 180 surveyed countries. This shows that corruption is getting worst in Nigeria. Consequently, this increase in corruption affects businesses in the country from all ramifications. Since there is a greater tendency of public servants collecting bribes while involving nepotism and favoritism in the discharge of their duties, it becomes increasingly difficult for businesses to scale through without rubbing some palms with money. Just like the word of God rightly said in the book of Proverbs 29:4 “A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it”, in the same way, bribery and corruption destroys efforts geared towards entrepreneurial development in Nigeria.

3.5. Poor Infrastructural development

The Nigerian business environment is highly characterized by poor infrastructural development. The infrastructural deficit in terms of epileptic power supply, bad roads, poor internet infrastructure, among others all contribute to hamper entrepreneurial pursuit in the country. For example, many vehicle owners who would have loved to sign up as partnering drivers with emerging ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Taxify were not able to do so due to the deplorable state of roads across the country. Furthermore, the epileptic power supply in Nigeria, further increase the cost of doing business in the country. Ojo and Oluwatatayo (2015) pointed out that private entities in Nigeria spend an estimated $8 billion importing generators annually. The poor state of infrastructure in Nigeria makes the cost of running a business too high and unaffordable, especially for small business startups

3.6. Inconsistent Governmental Policies

Lack of continuity in governmental policies especially with changes in government does not tell well on entrepreneurship development in the country. Inconsistent governmental policy is the reason why entrepreneurial development programs such as YouWIN was discontinued. In the bible, the Israelites were able to get to the promised land as a result of continuity; as Moses had to hand over the baton to Joshua to continue from where he stopped. In a similar instance, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was spread from the old-time generation to the present time owing to continuity. Old-time Apostles such as Peter and Paul were able to carry on the gospel to subsequent generation without deviation. However, the lack of continuation by subsequent governments is the ban of most entrepreneurship development programs established in Nigeria.

4. BRIDGING THE GAP – SOLUTIONS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT

As we have seen, from the evaluation above, we were able to identify some of the major challenges facing entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. As the economic landscape across the world continues to evolve owing to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the Nigerian government needs to build frameworks that will adequately encourage entrepreneurial development as a strategy to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Nigerian economy. Effective entrepreneurial development policies will no doubt lead to sustainable national growth since entrepreneurial development is a key driver of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development. Some of the means through which entrepreneurial development can be enhanced in the country are discussed hereinafter.

4.1. Enhanced University Education

One of the major causes of poor entrepreneurial outcomes in Nigeria is the poor quality of education obtained in most universities in the country. Samuel and Bassey (2012) identified this to be the primary cause of the dearth of skill among university graduates. Many courses in our universities are overly theoretical-based and do not impact deployable skills that can enable graduates to startup entrepreneurship ventures on their own after graduation. As the entrepreneurship landscape continues to change, stakeholders in the universities across the country must put hands on deck to ensure that university graduates are equipped with the necessary skills that will enable them to become self-reliant while creating employment opportunities. As Proverb 24: 4 succinctly puts it, “… by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches”. Thus, universities in the country will need to revisit their curriculum to ensure that they are inculcating knowledge with deployable skills that are in tandem with the jobs of the 21^st century.

4.2. Investment in Human Capital Development

Another strategy by which entrepreneurship development can be improved in Nigeria is through investment in human capital development. An all-rounded investment in human capital through capacity building in education and training will certainly help young people around the country to develop the necessary skills needed to manage their businesses. Last year, Nigerian ranked 152 out of 157 countries in the World Bank Group Human Capital Index (HCI). The HCI which measures the human capital a child born today can expect to attain by the age of 18, given the risk of poor health and education in a country where he or she lives (World Development Report, 2019), shows that a lot still needs to be done to build human capital in Nigeria. Just like the holy bible admonished us in the book of Proverbs 22:6 to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”, similarly, the Nigerian government needs to invest heavily in earlier childhood education and health, as this will help young people develop necessary skills that will enable them to build and manage entrepreneurial ventures in the future effectively.

4.3. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

One of the most effective ways to enhance entrepreneurship development while supporting entrepreneurs is through adequate protection of intellectual property. Intellectual property rights protection promotes creativity and innovation, which consequently generates jobs while improving economic growth. Nigeria needs to provide legal and institutional instruments that will ensure the efficient enforcement of intellectual property rights protection in the country. Through impeding product counterfeiting and piracy, efficient intellectual property rights protection will certainly encourage people in Nigeria to venture into entrepreneurship since they are assured that strong legal instruments exist to protect their patents and designs.

4.4. Support and Investment for Technology Hub Centers

It is imperative to note that technology is gradually changing the entrepreneurship eco-system across the globe. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses that leveraged on technology were able to survive as a result of working remotely via technology-enabled platforms. As the future unfolds, entrepreneurs in Nigeria and around the world must be technology smart to flow with the current trend of things. The emergence of technology hub centers where people can learn vital technology skills is going to help prepare entrepreneurs in Nigeria for technology-related businesses in the future. However, for this to be effective, the government will need to build more technology hub centers as well as provide support for existing ones.

4.5. Improving the Ease of Doing Business

As noted earlier, hostile and unfriendly business environments contribute to impeding entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. Thus, the Nigerian government has a significant role to play in simplifying the ease of doing business in the country. One of the major roles is to make proper and clear-cut policies that are targeted towards boosting entrepreneurial development. For instance, implementing a tax waive policy for new businesses in their first few years of existence will enable business startups to overcome certain financial challenges. Commendably, the ease of doing business in Nigeria is getting better as the country moved up 15 places to rank 131out of 190 countries in the latest World Bank Doing Business Index (2020). However, more work needs to be done to reach the federal government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017 – 2020) target of getting Nigeria ranked among the top 70 in the World Bank Doing Business Index by 2023.

5. FINANCING ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Financing entrepreneurship development in order to trigger economic growth and development is obviously not an easy task. Upgrading our institutions of learning to international standards, investment in technology hub centers, and adequate investment in human capital development clearly requires a lot of funding. With the COVID-19 pandemic that grounded economic activities while crashing the price of crude oil which accounts for more than 80% of Nigeria’s foreign revenue, it becomes more difficult for the government to generate resources to drive entrepreneurship development in the country. Nonetheless, the advent of digital businesses and emerging startup firms provides an opportunity for the government to generate an alternative source of revenue to finance entrepreneurship development.

5.1. Taxing digital businesses

As a result of technology advances, many businesses today are able to operate on digital platforms without a physical space. This development is increasingly making traditional taxation policies that rely on Permanent Establishments (PE) to assign tax jurisdiction obsolete (Morinobu, 2018). The COVID-19 outbreak has further exposed some of the weaknesses of permanent establishment. The future reality is that a lot of businesses are soon going to go digital. Hence, to raise finance for development, it is needful for the government to lay down strategies for taxing digital businesses. A successful attempt at taxing platform-based businesses will no doubt provide the needed revenue for financing entrepreneurship development programs in Nigeria.

5.2. Emerging Firms and Private Equities

Another means through which the government can indirectly finance entrepreneurial development is by providing an enabling environment for private equities. As the business landscape continues to evolve, new firms are beginning to emerge from different sectors by leveraging on the opportunities provided by technology. Without a doubt, these emerging startup firms will help drive economic growth and development through employment creation. However, it is important to recognize that emerging startups are able to succeed because of an element of funding in the startup ecosystem. This funding, most of the time, is provided by private equities and venture capitals. In 2019 alone, Nigerian ventures secured about $663.24 million in private equity and venture capital investments (Olawabunmi, 2020). Therefore, a public-private partnership between the government and private equities will set the path right for driving entrepreneurial development through sustained investment in emerging startup firms.

6. CONCLUSION

Entrepreneurial development is no doubt a key driver of economic growth and development. The challenges to the economic growth of Nigeria today - unemployment and unequal distribution of wealth - could be overcome by strongly investing in entrepreneurial development agendas. Efficient entrepreneurial development policies have the capability to propel infrastructural development; reduce unemployment and poverty; as well as improving the living standard of Nigerians. As the post-COVID future unfolds, it becomes critically important for the Nigerian government to focus on entrepreneurial development as a strategy to ameliorate the economic impact of COVID-19. The World Economic Forum (WEF) duly noted that “rapidly growing entrepreneurial enterprises are seen as important sources of innovation, productivity growth, and employment, as small and medium scale enterprises account for 97% of all jobs in emerging economies." Refocusing our gaze on entrepreneurial development could be our chance to rewrite our story from the world’s poverty capital to an economically prosperous nation. The word of God in the book of Deuteronomy 28:12 has promised to bless the work of our hands, it now depends on us to put all hands on deck towards entrepreneurial development to make these promises come to pass.

REFERENCES

Anyadike, N., Emeh I.E.J., and O.F. Ukah (2012). Entrepreneurship Development and Employment Generation in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects. Universal Journal of Education and General Studies, 14(1):1-15.

Central Bank of Nigeria (2003). The small and medium industries equity investment scheme. Central Bank of Nigeria Brief Serial No. 2002-3/09, 65-69, CBN, Abuja, Nigeria.

Harper, M. (1991). The role of enterprise in poor countries. Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, 15(4), 7-11.

Hamza, A.A (2013): Entrepreneurship Development; a publication of the National Open University of Nigeria, Pp. 16-33.

Holy Bible, King James version

Idam, L.W (2014). Entrepreneurship development in Nigeria: A Review. IOSR Journal of business and management. Vol 16, Issue 1.

Morinobu, S. (July 18, 2018). Strategies for Taxing the Digital Economy｜Research｜The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. Retrieved September 20, 2019, from The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research website: https://www.tkfd.or.jp/en/research/detail.php?id=24

National Bureau of Statistics (2019). Unemployment/Underemployment Report Q2 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from www.nigerianstat.gov.ng

Ogbaga, S.T (2018). "Empowered Youth - Drivers of Nigeria's Socio-economic Growth and Development". Unpublished essay

Ojo, A & Oluwatayo, I.(2015). Entrepreneurship as Drivers of Growth, Wealth Creation, and Sustainable Development in Nigeria. The Scientific Journal for Theory and Practice of Socio-economic Development . 4(8): 325-332

Oluwabunmi, B. (January 4, 2020). With $663.2m, Nigeria again tops startup investments in Africa. Retrieved 26 June 2020 from https://www.businessday.ng/entrepreneur/article/with-633-2m-nigeria-again-tops-startup-invetsmnt-in-africa/amp/

Samuel, A., & Bassey, I. (2012). Graduate Turnout and Graduate Employment in Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(14), 9.

Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Transparency International (2019). Corruption Perception Index 2019.

United Nations (2020). World Population Prospect: The 2019 Revision. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population

World Bank (2019). The Changing Nature of Work: World Development Report 2019. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/816281518818814423/pdf/2019-WDR-Report.pdf

World Bank (2019). Ease of Doing Business Index. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://home.kpmg/ng/en/home/insights/2019/10/nigeria-rank-131-in-world-bank-s-2020-doing-bussiness-report.html

ENDNOTES

[i] World Economic Forum (2020). Executive Summary. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from https://reports.weforum.org/new-models-for-entrepreneurship/executive-summary/

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GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: HOW THE YOUTHS CAN GET INVOLVED

2020-11-16T16:13:00.003+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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ABSTRACT

GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: HOW THE YOUTHS CAN GET INVOLVED, 2020

According to demographical reports, Nigeria is occupied by an enormous youthful population (18 - 35 years) of approximately 60 million. Yet, when the rudiments of Nigerian governance are being discussed, it is obvious that the youth’s involvement is almost absent or insignificant. This paper argues that the role of the youths in governance is irreplaceable, using data gotten from local and international researches, and personal experiences. It examines why the youths of today have failed to be the leaders of the tomorrow. However, it was discovered that the youth's involvement in governance is hindered by many obstacles which range from the inability of the youths to break free from the strongholds of political Godfathers, to the lack of youth empowerment amid gross unemployment; coupled with the decadence in Nigerian governance which stemmed from corrupt practices, insecurities, gerontocracy, gender inequality etc. The rise of embittered youths was unstoppable. Thus, if the nation must succeed, Nigerian youths must be allowed to pilot the ship of governance in the right direction; of which is of great generational necessity. This paper also aligns with the awakening of the youth’s consciousness and elucidates how the youths can involve in governance for a prosperous Nigeria.

ACCESS THE PDF OF THIS PAPER VIA THE LINK - https://www.academia.edu/44209748/GOVERNANCE_IN_NIGERIA_HOW_THE_YOUTHS_CAN_GET_INVOLVED

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The Coronavirus Pandemic: A Turning Point in the Lives of Nigerians

2020-11-16T15:58:00.003+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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ABSTRACT

The Coronavirus Pandemic: A Turning Point in the Lives of Nigerians, 2020

This paper reviews the pre-existing stand of Nigerians during the pre-pandemic period; it evaluates the dynamic effects of the novel Coronavirus pandemic in the lives of Nigerians during the pandemic period and proceeds to discuss the envisaged eventual possibilities of the post-pandemic period. Nigerians must have encountered several disease outbreaks in the past, but none of those experiences has shaped their lives so greatly than the most recent war that was waged against the Coronavirus disease. Although life before the pandemic hit was not rosy for many Nigerians, the sudden presence of the disease was a sharp thorn that pierced through the marrows and dreams of many Nigerians and shredded them apart. In response, the Nigerian government adopted several stringent measures in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) directives, to halt the disease. Positive efforts to contain the disease were sabotaged by the perpetration of corrupt practices within the government and health sector. However, the active role of a faithful few opposed the negative effects of corruption and sought to restore the dignity of mankind. While many were consumed by the upsurge of a sudden situationally-induced predator lifestyle, and mind-challenging conspiracy theories, others were preoccupied with adopting new ways of living, to mitigate the inimical effects of the pandemic. The post-pandemic period is envisaged to be loaded with a new modus operandi that would be embraced in every stratum of the Nigerian society. This would attest to the fact that the Nigerian populace has holistically evolved from the pandemic experience.

ACCESS THE PDF OF THIS PAPER VIA THE LINK-

https://www.academia.edu/44189425/The_Coronavirus_Pandemic_A_Turning_Point_in_the_Lives_of_Nigerians

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Industrial Control Systems: The Biggest Cyber Threat

2020-11-11T12:18:00.002+01:00

Written by: Christos P.Beretas

Christos P. Beretas. PhD Candidate (full scholarship) in Cyber Security at Innovative Knowledge Institute, Paris, France.

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First received: October 19, 2020

Keywords: industry, control systems, security, privacy, attack, vulnerabilities, energy

Abstract

Industrial control systems (ICS) are critical, as in these systems, cyber threats have the potential to affect, disorganize, change their mode of operation, act as an information extraction vehicle, and ultimately turn against itself. creating risks to the system itself, infrastructure, downtime, leakage of sensitive data, and even loss of human life. Industrial control systems (ICS) are vital to the operation of all the modern automated infrastructure in the western world, such as power plant and power stations. Industrial control systems (ICS) differ from the traditional information systems and infrastructures of organizations and companies, a standard cybersecurity strategy cannot be implemented but part of it adapting to the real facts and needs of each country, legislation and infrastructure. These systems require continuous operation, reliability and rapid recovery when attacked electronically with automated control, isolation and attack management processes. Incorrect settings and lack of strategic planning can lead to unprotected operation of critical installations, as they do not meet the cybersecurity requirements. Industrial control systems (ICS) require special protection in their networks, as they should be considered vulnerable in all their areas, they need protection from cyber-attacks against ICS, SCADA servers, workstations, PLC automations, etc. Security policies to be implemented should provide protection against cyber threats, and systems recovery without affecting the operation and reliability of operating processes. Security policies such as security assessment, smart reporting, vulnerability and threat simulation, integrity control analysis, apply security policy to shared systems, intrusion detection and prevention, and finally firewall with integrated antivirus and sandbox services should be considered essential entities.

Introduction

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) must be installed in isolated environments away from both physical and cyber threats. Unfortunately, this is not always happened. This can be demonstrated by using specialized cybersecurity tools to look for central ICS Servers whose management platforms are exposed to the Internet without security policies leaving exposed installations behind a username and password which is easy to violate and manage this system to fall into the hands of strangers with incalculable consequences. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are found in areas such as: energy, aerospace, oil, chemicals, automotive, etc. More than 90.0% of these ICS servers have vulnerabilities, which can be exploited even remotely or local as they offer sometimes complete remote management and on the other hand the facilities themselves manage each other management data or operation with insufficient or no security at all. Attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are not the exclusive prerogative of less developed countries, one might wonder a less developed country does not have the funding and knowledge required to secure such systems. In addition to the notorious 2015 attack on the electricity company in Ukraine, which proved to be frightening in scale and size, due to the lack of a strategic cybersecurity plan and basic security knowledge and dealing with emergency and serious cyber attacks, this was followed by the attack on the steel plant in Germany and the Frederic Chopin airport in Warsaw. The above points out that the attacks themselves have existed, exist, and will intensify in the future because such a large-scale attack in an unsafe system can easily have a huge impact and affect the stability of services and governments. The more a country relies on Industrial Control Systems (ICS), the more likely it is to have security vulnerabilities. By their very nature, Industrial Control Systems (ICS) contain different but interconnected components, which are connected to the Internet and contain security vulnerabilities. There is no 100% certainty that an Industrial Control System (ICS) unit will not have security vulnerabilities at some point. However, this does not mean that there is no way to protect against a cyber attack for example a power plant.

Problem Definition

Some of the countries where Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are located have the law of missing laws governing security and how to deal with a cyber attack. These crucial facilities employ people who do not have enough knowledge to manage critical situations, which is due to the lack of knowledge transfer or lack of training so that they can perform to the maximum. In addition to cyberattacks on either IoT devices or software security vulnerabilities, the human factor remains an important factor in the security of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). The human factor is capable of jeopardizing an Industrial Control System (ICS) because employee errors or unintentional misconduct were behind incidents affecting the operating networks of industrial control systems (ICS). Over time the systems become more complex but also more functional with automated functions this implies increased protection against cyber attacks and further knowledge of management staff. Both the specialized staff and the system upgrades are two alien entities which can neither be restricted nor ignored because if one of the two entities is ignored there will be a significant problem of security and smooth operation. The implementation of the Industry 4.0 standard will significantly improve the security of industrial control systems (ICS) as the standard defines the management of smart tools by exchanging information autonomously and controlling each other machine, thus limiting the human factor without eliminating completely, for this reason, in order to have the necessary level of protection, the training of the staff is necessary in order for there to be a smooth operation, something that unfortunately is not often implemented following the logic “since it works, do not touch it”.

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) staff often perform dual tasks, which means that a computer security officer is considered to be knowledgeable about security and thus oversees the security of industrial control systems (ICS). something that is wrong. This kind of approach can bring huge digital risks as there is a significant difference in how to deal with digital attacks, network security, as it is difficult for a computer security officer to oversee the security of such critical industrial infrastructure as it lacks architectural knowledge. machine to machine data, lack knowledge about proper cyber configuration and secure integration of machines in the rest of the network, identifying and correcting security vulnerabilities and finally its lack of response to a serious cyber attack. Critical infrastructure managers need to understand the dangers of a critical infrastructure as well as the more critical the infrastructure, the more attractive it is to would-be intruders. Therefore, they need specialized knowledge, adopting a holistic, multi-layered approach that combines cyber protection and specialized training of security specialists, as industrial power plants, for example, will remain safe and fully operational even after a cyber attack. Finally, the application of Industry 4.0 requires the use of IoT, which further complicates security, as it was mentioned in my previous research article on IoT security, they are extremely insecure and need special study on their use in terms of security. their functions as well as their safe integration into the industrial systems. Targeted attack on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) is irrelevant, no potential intruder is satisfied with the infection of a computer, or a server in an industrial infrastructure, the reason is that such an attack does not deal a significant blow to the target industrial infrastructure, the second reason is that the intruder does not have the reception or it is monetary in the form of liters from the target industrial infrastructure nor the reputation he/she would like. The target of the attacker remains the installation of malware which will be installed on distributed systems whether it will be installed by system breach remotely or in the form of phishing. Lack of employee training, lack of security updates, detection of strange connections and processes combined with lack of security policy, attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) find their target.

The Importance of Industry 4.0

Based on what mentioned in the above paragraphs, conclude that the human factor remains a significant threat, but is not solely responsible for the attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) as there are other parameters to lead such a system exploited by the intruder such as incorrect system configuration. Industry 4.0 is designed to fill this gap as introduce Internet of Things (IoT) into Industrial Control Systems (ICS) oversight. IoT security is lacking and needed for installation as well as for specialized configuration and installation in points behind network security systems. Industry 4.0 includes the philosophy of reducing the human factor in combination with enhanced machine safety, this is achieved by the autonomous communication of machines exchanging operating elements with each other, after an authentication method has been performed so that one machine can certify the validation of the other machine so that they can interact. It is a Cyber Physical System that allows to perform functions and decide on the required functions on its own by offering the most transparent operating characteristics. The implementation of Industry 4.0 can provide a detailed and complete picture of the infrastructure, such as smart devices that work, their performance can be checked, operation statistics can be extracted, checking of correct operation, checking of machines, checking the correct use of machines , information analysis, performing diagnostics on the infrastructure, and finally a complete picture of the management and detection of strange connections and processes. The disadvantage in applying Industry 4.0 is the different philosophy followed from country to country, there are countries with different perceptions about the use of Industrial Control Systems (ICS), there are countries that have lacked legal status, other countries are limited in use of automated digital technology, finally other countries show legal attachment to the location of data storage and processing whether they are within their infrastructure or in the Cloud.

Solution

Before the advent of industry 4.0 but also after, some strict security policies are required which are presented below and aim to ensure both the operation of the infrastructure and the security of data and systems. According to the analysis presented above, the following actions are considered necessary.

· Creating a cybersecurity policy from the country where the industrial production systems are based, the security policy should include the rules, actions and activities to be done before, during and after a cyber attack. Cybersecurity policy should be reviewed periodically.

· A clear legal framework that defines it is security, personal data, and what is considered confidential.

· Defining employee access levels, which employee has access to which, for how long and the type of access.

· Define access to systems depending on the level of employees.

· Regular checks on systems which are scheduled and also extraordinary.

· Securing sensitive systems and smart devices behind security equipment such as Firewalls.

· Internal security policy which is in line with the country's security policy.

· Identify vulnerable systems and repair them immediately, or put them out of operation as they are a vulnerable point of entry.

· Exclude remote system management, systems will only be remotely managed from specific IP addresses and by entering credentials other than passwords such as public / private key and only from specific individuals.

· Restrict access to internal systems and networking devices such as routers, USB ports, IoT, and peripherals.

· Encrypt sensitive information, decrypting it will be done automatically when searching for data, whether it is a database or files.

· Protection systems such as antivirus, firewall, sandbox, intrusion detection and prevention remain active and up to date.

· Prohibition of installing unauthorized applications.

· Restrict internet access.

· Establish a monitoring team to review compliance with security policies.

· Daily tasks monitoring.

· Physical preservation of facilities.

· Search for security methods used in the past that have succeeded.

· Finally, provide high-quality training to all staff to keep them informed.

Conclusion

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) due to their nature are critical infrastructures for each country, as critical infrastructures are a target for would-be intruders. These systems are relatively difficult to break but not impossible. This article discusses concerns and ways to secure such infrastructures. As the evolution of information technology grows, so will the potential for breach of such systems. The security administrators must find a step forward from the intruders to secure their infrastructures. They must somehow read the intruders' thoughts and secure their systems before being attacked.

References

· Christos Beretas (2016) US Cyber Strategy of 2020. (Journal of Computer Engineering & Information Technology, 2016).

· Christos Beretas (2017) Cloud Computing and Privacy. (Journal of Electrical & Electronic Systems, 2017).

· Christos Beretas (2018) Security and Privacy in Data Networks. (Research in Medical & Engineering Sciences , 2018).

· Christos Beretas (2018) Internet of Things and Privacy. (Journal of Industrial Engineering and Safety, 2018).

· Christos Beretas (2020) Cyber Hybrid Warfare: Asymmetric threat. (Journal of Nanotechnology and Advanced Material Science, 2020).

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How really secure is TOR and the privacy it offers?

2020-09-10T15:34:00.001+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas

e-mail: cberetas@ikinstitute.org

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Keywords: tor, onion servers, security, privacy, attack, vulnerabilities, networks

TOR is a very popular Project, a global anonymity network loved by millions of internet users, used by people who want to express their opinion online, take malicious action, transfer files from one location to another without these files being compromised, their location is not detected, etc. All the above actions are performed so as not to be detected by ISPs, or to log their online data from the websites they want to visit, thus significantly reducing the risk to be detected, although the ISP knows when a user is connecting to the TOR network but without being able to see the contents of the packets. TOR started for another purpose and ended up being used for another purpose. Designed by the U.S Navy for the exchange of confidential data and ended up an open-source project, this in itself is questionable and needs a lot of skepticism, how an anonymity project that was designed to be used for the secrecy of communications was left free to users. Thereby making life difficult for the secret services worldwide to detect dangerously online transactions and prevent malicious actions, Is it not that true after all? Did the government create an anonymity project to make its life more difficult? Is this whole endeavour a delusion? Is this whole project deliberately in the interest of governments?

Most internet anonymity users prefer TOR over a VPN, thinking that the VPN service provider could keep log files that could easily be passed on to governments or other stakeholders, depending on international agreements. As well as by the country of operation of the VPN service provider and the privacy and confidential communications policies it implements in accordance with its legislation. According to the research I have done, below I point out some points which are a red flag for the integrity of the data circulating in the TOR network and which in some of the following ways individually or as a whole could be intercepted.

· Fake Relays (Middle or Exit Nodes).

· Malicious Code injected in target web sites.

· Back doors in encryption algorithms.

· Malicious software installed in target computer systems.

· Fake HTTPS.

Let's analyze the above 5 points one by one:

1. Fake Relays (Middle or Exit Nodes)

To understand this section there must be a substantive knowledge of the operation of the TOR. A user of the TOR network every time he/she browse the internet goes through different Relays as this means when the data reaches the TOR exit Node its IP address changes as it appears to be browsing the internet from a different location. Here comes on mind the following question, most IP detection and IP analysis systems are able to know if an IP address is a not a TOR IP address (regular IP address) or TOR exit Node. I think you know why. I return to my above analysis, think for a moment about the project 5 eyes, 9 eyes, 14 eyes and the participating countries, then ponder if fake middle relays or exit TOR nodes are installed in these countries, how easily could the packages be intercepted? The packages could have been copied without the user realizing the slightest thing, while continuing the communication of the user uninterruptedly so that the user would not perceive the slightest thing.

2. Malicious Code injected in target web sites

Intelligence services can easily create fake web pages that are tailored to the target user's interest, which directs the target user to other methods to visit them or these web pages are hosted on Onion Servers that will pique the target user's interest. The target user will then visit the fake website for lack of special monitoring software or with other words Back door which is able to monitor the activities of the target user.

3. Back doors in encryption algorithms

Do governments and intelligence services possess master keys that can decrypt any content that has been encrypted by any encryption method? It is a question that needs deeper research, but I find it unlikely that governments will not have a back door to recognized encryption algorithms and encryption methods. I do not believe that a government should allow the creation of an encryption algorithm or a method of data encryption without the existence of a security backdoor.

4. Malicious software installed in target computer systems

This method works either by physically accessing a computer system or by accessing the system remotely after locating a security hole that allows remote control and installation of monitoring software such as a custom key logger. This method does not require the interception of data from the TOR network as the data is stolen before entering it.

5. Fake HTTPS

The philosophy is often stated that if the user visits a website that uses encryption (https) then it is impossible to locate the real visitor behind TOR, while if a website is visited that does not support encryption method (http) it is possible to reveal the real visitor behind TOR. The above reasoning applies only to the theory, the reasons I mention this are that 1) there are many fake websites that use fake https, 2) SSL can be violated and while it seems that a website shows a secure and provide valid connection something that applies, and then the transferred data is copied without the user realizing the slightest thing. The average user may not realize the difference, intelligence services that have ways to spy on data from websites that use SSL know the difference.

In conclusion, we can say that the TOR network is a secure anonymous web browsing network that offers a degree of anonymity to users who use it, but anonymity that is visible to ordinary users and not to governments and intelligence services. Who know the ways and have the methods to penetrate into it. The TOR network is a completely secure network in the eyes of ordinary users. In a world where important information is expensive, the creation and free use of an anonymity project that important people would not be able to access would never be allowed.

References

1. Christos Beretas. (Chronicle Journal of Engineering Science, 2020). The role of IoT in Smart Cities: Security and Privacy in Smart World.

2. Christos Beretas. (Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, 2020). Smart Cities and Smart Devices: The Back Door to Privacy and Data Breaches.

3. Christos Beretas. (International Journal of Innovative Research in Electronics and Communications, 2019). Governments Failure on Global Digital Geopolitical Strategy.

4. Christos Beretas. (Research in Medical & Engineering Sciences, 2018). Security and Privacy in Data Networks.

5. Christos Beretas. (International Journal of Modern Communication Technologies & Research, 2018). Internet of Things, Internet Service Providers and Unsuspecting Users.

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ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT: KEY TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

2020-08-23T05:11:00.002+01:00

Written by: OLAWALE RASAQ ADEMOLA

About the author: He is a graduate of Finance, University of Ilorin. He is an entrepreneur, financial analyst, financial inclusion activist, career and finance coach. He owns the leading multi-service hub (OOC) that provides top-notch and outstanding customer services ranging from Business consultancy, content and creative writing, Data analytics, Graphics and General printing, Publicity, Research Consultancy, Cover letter, CV reviews and other related Edu services. He served at the department of finance and accounts, ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Ado-Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Email: olawaley.olayiwola@gmail.com

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ABSTRACT

The reality after graduation is becoming more challenging for youths. In the past, most graduates are dependent on the government for employment after graduation, but now, that is not the case, it is therefore required of every youth to take self-employment with high esteem, as such, it cannot be overemphasized that entrepreneurship development is the appropriate program to mitigate this predicament of unemployment because jobs have to be created by and for the people to accelerate economic growth which, in the long run, leads to economic development. It is the goal of the writer to explore entrepreneurial development as key to Nigeria’s economic growth and development. The Biblical and intellectual approach was copiously employed in this essay for an effective analysis of the topic. This essay, however, looks at entrepreneurs as a key to economic growth and development, and the challenges being faced in Nigeria. Furthermore, it x-rays the role of the believers, church, educational system, and government while providing a way forward to challenges already identified.

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is naturally endowed with natural resources, a variety of unexploited minerals, and a wealth of human capital. However, Nigeria still falls far short of the economic and social growth let alone development given that over half of Nigeria’s population lives on less than one dollar a day. To add salt to the wound, Nigeria has a low score on the Human Development Index (HDI), an index that measures the average achievement of a country in terms of the cost of living and standard of living. Economic growth is certainly an essential factor to foster economic development of any nation, economic development which is being measured by improved living standards of the populace have remained a great challenge in the country.

According to Nigeria employers’ consultative Association (NECA), the rate of unemployment was forecasted to hit 33.5% in 2020 from the 2019 rate pegged at 23.1%. Many graduates who by chance got admitted and having graduated couldn’t get a job usually ends up being restless and try anything such as crime or deviant behaviour to make ends meet, hence there is a need for empowerment and provision of technical skills which will birth self-employment and financial independence. Moreover, the current global pandemic has made matters worse in Nigeria as some companies are operating below capacity level, more secure jobs will be lost and few jobs will be created owing to the loans being currently serviced by Nigeria, and the current predicament in the financial sector, particularly the money and the capital markets which will have an adverse impact on the economy. This is not only visible but will be highly challenging as far as employment and job security are concerned.

Considering the Nigerian youth unemployment challenges among similar others, these can be mitigated through sustained job since entrepreneurship remains the viable option for wealth creation. In the opinion of Lemo (2013), he observes that entrepreneurship is a catalyst to reduce unemployment, reduce poverty, aid youth empowerment concerning their business’s development, and contribution to overall productive capacity, which in the long run facilitates the national economic growth and development.

In the last two decades, entrepreneurship has become one of the economic variables that attract the attention of governments and researchers both in developed and developing countries. The reason is not far-fetched; it is because of its role in economic growth and development. Entrepreneurs are considered to be the veritable backbone on which the world and modern ideas continue to develop and are fast becoming the bedrock of modern civilization amidst concerns of unemployment.

To buttress this, interests in entrepreneurial development continue to occupy a centre stage in the developed and developing countries of which Nigeria is not an exclusion. In 2012, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) accelerated its program by introducing the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) initiative to facilitate access to requisite skills, resources necessary for successful entrepreneurship and to support the federal government’s aim to launch economic transformation through the promotion of entrepreneurship and self-reliance initiatives, particularly among youth, but then this scheme has not been working as expected because the mindset of graduates is to get a white-collar job.

DEFINITION AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Entrepreneurship

The concept of entrepreneurship is dynamic and many academic disciplines have contributed their perspectives on the concept of entrepreneurship. The term “entrepreneurship” is seen in different ways with varying conceptual schools of thought in different fields of study such as economics, management, and psychology. However, despite these differences, there are some common ingredients such as creativity, tenacity, independence, taking a risk, and rewards embedded in the different schools of thought. Indeed, entrepreneurship entails the introduction of a change, an innovation, or a new order.

In Nigeria, domestic entrepreneurship is often discussed within the context of Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (Nwokoye, 2013). Certainly, it can be concluded that entrepreneurship is a behavioural characteristic of persons, but then it should be noted that entrepreneurship is not an occupation and neither is it a small business. Enterprising individuals in larger firms usually referred to as ‘intrapreneurs’ or ‘corporate entrepreneurs’, undertake entrepreneurial actions as well, as such entrepreneurship is not restricted to persons starting or operating an (innovative) small firm.

From a Biblical perspective, one of the key ingredients to entrepreneurship is longsuffering, however, diligence allows the Christian to live with excitement and passion to complete his work and calling from God (Proverbs 10:4; Romans 12:11; Colossians 3:23). More so, they are faithful in service to others as detailed in (1 Peter 4:10). If all of these features are evident in the bible then a Christian is a potential entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is beyond a person starting a business, the word “entrepreneur” can be traced to the French word, “entreprende” which means “to undertake” (Akanni, 2010). It is also used to describe taking charge or leading a project, which would deliver values and bring it to completion. This is an indication that an entrepreneur is simply a risk-taker. In the opinion of Hornby (2006), he describes an entrepreneur as a person who makes money by kick-starting or running businesses, especially when it involves taking financial risks. In other words, an entrepreneur is a person who does not only starts a business, but he moved further to identify a business opportunity to organising resources, to the management of the risk of a business or an enterprise despite heavy challenges.

Entrepreneurship development

Entrepreneurship development is simply the process of enhancing entrepreneurial skills and knowledge through structured training and programs. Several scholars such as Ndechukwu (2001), McOliver (1998), Ameashi (2006) among many others have defined entrepreneurship development by referring to the qualitative and transformational growth of an entrepreneur, they all see the term as the ability to take calculated risks, the identification of business opportunities, the prowess to harness the necessary resources to use opportunities identified, the tenacity and the willingness to initiate and sustain appropriate actions towards the actualization of business objectives despite daunting challenges.

Furthermore, entrepreneurship development centres on the expansion of the entrepreneurial base to ensure that the pace at which new ventures are birthed is increased as it centres more on growth potential and innovation which therefore accelerates employment generations as well as fast-tracking economic growth and development.

Economic growth and development

Economic growth is the sustained increase in the welfare of an economy together with the ongoing changes in that economy's industrial structure and distribution of income. Just like a firm keeps a record of the progress it makes over the years, so do an economy maintains its record of performance by the national income accounting. Economic growth is usually quantified by Gross domestic growth (GDP). Gross Domestic Product is designed to measure the totality of those activities that fall within the boundary of the national accounts system i.e. The total number of goods and services produced in a country within a given year.

Development is simply progress in a structural or physical setting. Abianga (2010) echoes the same perspective when he stressed that development is the act or process of growth, progress, and improvement within a physical setting.

Economically, development suffices when there has been consistent growth, measuring this development involves quantifying the increase in welfare to endowing with numerical precision the large-scale economic and social changes taking place in an economy; gross domestic product, export, employment creation, capital formation, and per capita income.

ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

It is not an assumption, neither is it a tentative statement that entrepreneurship is linked to economic growth because activities that are needed to channel ideas into economic opportunities lie at the very heart of entrepreneurship. Moreso, entrepreneurs are the link between new ideas and economic growth, little wonder why Henderson (2007) explains that entrepreneurship is increasingly being recognized as a primary engine of economic growth by combining several existing resources with innovative ideas, adding values through the commercialization of new products and the creation of new jobs.

Entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of development strategies, it births new enterprises, new commercial activities, new economic sectors, generate jobs for others, produce goods and services for society, introduces new technologies and improves or lower cost outputs. The quintessential account of some entrepreneurs includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin who founded Google while they were students at Stanford University. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg with the help of Andrew McCollum both computer Science students of Harvard University created Facebook. These entrepreneurs are currently global guns in their respective industries and adding value to the economy.

Additionally, the general acceptability of entrepreneurship education speaks volume of its usefulness and importance in the present realities with the creation of jobs and investment in people which spurs innovation and serve as opportunities for the poor. It also has several multiplier effects on the economy as a better source of competitive advantage since other natural resources can be depleted.

Undoubtedly, entrepreneurship contributes to the economy through the goods or services produced for which they are paid for by consumers, through the generation of economic activities such as buying, selling, marketing, payment of taxes to the government, undertaking corporate social responsibility to the various stakeholders within the community in which the enterprise is being operated among many others.

In Nigeria, the introduction of Presidential Initiatives, such as the You Win establishment, friends of Osinbajo, programmes and specialised institutions such as the small and medium enterprise development agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bank of Industry(BOI), the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI), the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Industrial Development Coordinating Centre (IDCC), the NYSC venture price competition among many others formed to sensitize and create awareness in Nigerian youths, awaken their entrepreneurship expertise, and orientate serving youth corps members towards seeking alternative employment options, in particular, self-employment and the creation of the centre for entrepreneurial development being established in each of the tertiary institutions where different skills would be taught to a large extent shows that the Federal Government of Nigeria recognized the role entrepreneurship could play in jumpstarting the growth and development of the economy.

OBSTACLES STOPING RAPID ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

It is more than evident that entrepreneurial development plays a vital role in fast-tracking economic growth and development as Nigeria has enough resources to develop itself from developing to developed state but bad governance becomes a bone to pick. Apart from policy inconsistencies and political instability which adversely affects the growth and survival of the small businesses in the country, access to finance is a core stumbling block in the way to set up successful enterprises and the realisation of economic development, the following are some of the obstacles facing rapid entrepreneurial development:

• An inefficient pro-active regulatory environment that encourages innovative enterprise development at the grassroots level.

• Epileptic and dilapidated infrastructural facilities (especially with regards to roads and electricity)

• The presence of administrative and heavy trade barriers that hinder capacity building and operational supports.

• Corruption and absence of regulatory mechanisms for effective oversight of enterprise development initiatives, especially those in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME ) space.

• Insecurity and spate of conflicts among Nigerian societies and communities.

THE WAY FORWARD TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Entrepreneurship cannot grow in a vacuum, since the process of entrepreneurial development emphasises on training, re-learning, reorientation, birthing conducive and a hitch-free environment for the growth of enterprises, therefore fostering entrepreneurship is a collective responsibility of individuals, higher institutions, bigger firms, and the government. Needless to say, is that the road to Nigeria's emergence as an economic superpower is blurry, thus more than just optimism, it calls for a clever economic restructuring that will help turn the country's fortunes around for good. However, entrepreneurship development is a good fit for this.

Additionally, since youths constitute a larger percentage of Nigeria’s population, this calls for the need to engage the youth more to venture in productive activities, and also, the wide-spread level of unemployment in the country would be minimized if Nigerians youth irrespective cultural differences and backgrounds are being exposed to entrepreneurial learning, unlearning, and re-learning to foster economic maturity and development. It should be noted however that some individuals will naturally become entrepreneurs, no matter what, while others in that same society will never become entrepreneurs, no matter the support they receive or the circumstance. In between these two extremes, lies largely numbers of individuals whose capacity to become entrepreneurs will depend on the circumstances they are faced with. The identification of those circumstances that are conducive to turning a majority of potential entrepreneurs into productive entrepreneurs should not be taken with levity hands by relevant stakeholders.

Importantly, Christians should understand that God calls not only ministers and other spiritual workers but everyone to specific roles in His kingdom. As Christian, we must realise that our calling is to kill cankerworms in society while establishing and leading business organisations that are designed to achieve positive results in the secular world. The following building process will help to unleash the Nigerian entrepreneurship system which will, in the long run, leads to economic growth and development:

• It is high time the policymakers became aware that entrepreneurship deserves equal emphasis as is being placed on science and technology; it is the entrepreneur that translates the innovation in science and technology into wealth. The church should reiterate the need for believers to develop a business that blends business excellence with Christian, Biblical, and theological perspectives. To buttress this, governments should also develop a culture of entrepreneurial thinking. This can be done in several ways such as getting entrepreneurship more integrated into the educational systems, encouraging calculated risk-taking, and embarking on national campaigns for entrepreneurship mindsets.

• Emphatically, a more sustainable action to social vices and poverty reduction is through encouraging youths, particularly those with identified entrepreneurial skills to go into private business particularly in science and technology because these have natural potentials for business development. As a result, there is a need for restructuring in the educational settings to prepare the minds of students for self-reliance.

• The government should make provision for access to local and international markets to aid entrepreneurial expansion and proliferation.

• Improvement in infrastructure (mainly of power and electricity) that could cripple new and existing businesses in the economy.

• The provision of access to finance and the introduction of a favourable loan policy that would address the specific needs of enterprises is quintessential.

• The government should enhance the entrepreneurial environmental conditions to galvanize Nigeria’s total entrepreneurial activities towards improved national economic growth and development.

• Corruption and nepotism have made government efforts to promote entrepreneurship to below expectations; hence to make a significant contribution, nepotism and corruption being a cankerworm should be shunned.

CONCLUSION

The quest for the attainment of a great and dynamic economy in this 21st century is important for Nigeria not to be left behind the rest of the world in the march towards the millennium development goals coupled with the pressure of globalization and the future of work. To achieve this, the government can utilise several measures such as religion to harness, inculcate and develop the entrepreneurial career of the younger generations that cuts across the entire spectrum of the education system from primary school to higher institutions as well as in the informal system and also improve their potentials toward entrepreneurial skills which will consequently foster economic growth and development while ensuring an enabling a conducive environment for business to strive.

Essentially, believers should know that we do business while being guided by the Holy Spirit as indicated in Ephesians 2:8-10; John 15:16a and 1Corinthians 12:12-18. As such our businesses should differ from secular businesses as Apostle Paul admonished in Ephesians 4: 17-18, “so I tell you this, and insist on it in the lord that you no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking, they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

An excellent spirit like that of Daniel is expected because we are salt of the earth and light of the world. As Christian, Galatians 6:9 detailed the need to develops endurance and staying power to accomplish God's will. Indeed, there is a need for Christians to pick up the mantle as an agent of change who are poised to spreading innovative ideas, accelerating and making positive change in this generation.

Conclusively, the business purpose is to “Let God’s Kingdom come on earth” and to be King, Priest, and Prophet in business and private life. The world must see Jesus in our actions, entrepreneurs who are deeply rooted in the word can be even more relevant when they become mentors, care-givers, and visionaries in their areas of influence. Potential entrepreneurs display initiative and ambition, have business sense and foresight, and are decisive, however, it must be conceded and addressed that until Christians take the gauntlet and build a new entrepreneurial mindset and by extension, a business anchored on Christ, economic growth and development would be a distant dream for Nigeria.

REFERENCES

Abianga, E. U. (2010). Effective Leadership and Followership Drives Community Development. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development.

Akanni. (2010). Refocusing Education System towards Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria: A tool for Poverty Eradication.

Amaeshi, U. (2007). Entrepreneurship as a core Economic Development Strategy for Nigeria. Journal of Business & Management Studies, 1(2), 1-9.

Henderson, J. (2007). Understanding rural entrepreneurs at the country level: Data challenges. Paper presented at the Frameworks for Entrepreneurship Research in Food, Agriculture, and Rural Development Workshop. Kansas City.

Lemo, T. (2013). Development and the entrepreneurial challenge policy and execution. ThisDay.

McOliver, F. (1998). Business Enterprises (How to start and succeed. Benin City: Uniben Press.

Ndechukwu, F. N. (2001). Packing Small and Medium Scale Industries for Equity Investment. At a Workshop Organize by the bankers Committee for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Nwokoye, E. S., Onwuka, K. O., & Ogbonna, I. C. (2013). Business mentoring and domestic entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s manufacturing sub-sector: The place of foreign direct investment inflows. Journal of Developing Country Studies, 3(8), 8-18.

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Ten (10) Steps in maintaining a Good Blood Pressure Control

2020-08-20T15:30:00.004+01:00

Written by: Dr Chinedu Umeadi Foundation

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1. Lose weight and avoid gaining extra pounds

Blood pressure increases as weight increases. Being overweight also can cause hindrance in breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea), which further raises your blood pressure.

Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle changes for controlling blood pressure. Losing even a small amount of weight if you're overweight or obese can help reduce your blood pressure. In general, you may reduce your blood pressure by about 1 millimetre of mercury (mm Hg) with each kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of weight you lose.

Besides shedding pounds, you generally should also keep an eye on your waistline. Carrying too much weight around your waist can put you at greater risk of high blood pressure.

In general:

Men are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 40 inches (102 centimetres).

Women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (89 centimetres).

These numbers vary among ethnic groups. Ask your doctor about a healthy waist measurement for you.

2. Exercise regularly

The regular physical activity aimed at 150 minutes a week, or about 30 minutes most days of the week can lower your blood pressure by about 5 to 8 mm Hg if you have high blood pressure. It's important to be consistent because if you stop exercising, your blood pressure can rise again.

If you have high bp, exercise can help you avoid developing hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels.

Some examples of aerobic exercise you may try to lower blood pressure include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing. You can also try high-intensity interval training, which involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with subsequent recovery periods of lighter activity. Strength training also can help reduce blood pressure.

Aim to include strength training exercises at least two days a week. Talk to your doctor about developing an exercise program.

3. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg if you have high blood pressure. This eating plan is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.

It isn't easy to change your eating habits, but with these tips, you can adopt a healthy eating habit.

Keep a food diary. Writing down what you eat, even for just a week, can shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Monitor what you eat, how much, and when. Also, avoid trans fat.

4. Reduce sodium in your diet

Even a small reduction in the sodium(salt) in your diet can improve your heart health and reduce blood pressure by about 5 to 6 mm Hg if you have high blood pressure.

The effect of sodium intake on blood pressure varies among groups of people. In general, limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less. However, a lower sodium intake — 1,500 mg a day or less — is ideal for most adults.

To decrease sodium in your diet, consider these tips:

Read food labels. If possible, choose low-sodium alternatives for the foods and beverages you normally buy.

Eat fewer processed foods. Only a small amount of sodium occurs naturally in foods. Most sodium is added during processing.

Don't add salt. Just 1 level teaspoon of salt has 2,300 mg of sodium. Use herbs or spices to add flavour to your food.

Ease into it. If you don't feel you can drastically reduce the sodium in your diet suddenly, cut back gradually. Your palate will adjust over time.

5. Limit the amount of alcohol you drink

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. By drinking alcohol only in moderation — generally one drink a day for women, or two a day for men — you can potentially lower your blood pressure by about 4 mm Hg. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

But that protective effect is lost if you drink too much alcohol.

Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can actually raise blood pressure by several points. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

6. Quit smoking

Each cigarette you smoke increases your blood pressure for many minutes after you finish. Stopping smoking helps your blood pressure return to normal. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your overall health. People who quit smoking may live longer than people who never quit smoking.

7. Cut back on caffeine

The role caffeine plays in blood pressure is still debated. Caffeine can raise blood pressure up to 10 mm Hg in people who rarely consume it. But people who drink coffee regularly may experience little or no effect on their blood pressure.

Although the long-term effects of caffeine on blood pressure aren't clear, it's possible blood pressure may slightly increase.

To see if caffeine raises your blood pressure, check your pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a caffeinated beverage. If your blood pressure increases by 5 to 10 mm Hg, you may be sensitive to the blood pressure raising effects of caffeine. Talk to your doctor about the effects of caffeine on your blood pressure.

8. Reduce your stress

Chronic stress may contribute to high blood pressure. More research is needed to determine the effects of chronic stress on blood pressure. Occasional stress also can contribute to high blood pressure if you react to stress by eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol or smoking.

Take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed, such as work, family, finances or illness. Once you know what's causing your stress, consider how you can eliminate or reduce stress.

If you can't eliminate all of your stressors, you can at least cope with them in a healthier way. Try to:

9. Monitor your blood pressure at home and see your doctor regularly

Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure, make certain your lifestyle changes are working, and alert you and your doctor to potential health complications. Blood pressure monitors are available widely and without a prescription. Talk to your doctor about home monitoring before you get started.

Regular visits with your doctor are also key to controlling your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is well-controlled, check with your doctor about how often you need to check it. Your doctor may suggest checking it daily or less often.

If you're making any changes in your medications or other treatments, your doctor may recommend you check your blood pressure starting two weeks after treatment changes and a week before your next appointment.

10. Get support

Supportive family and friends can help improve your health. They may encourage you to take care of yourself, drive you to the doctor's office or embark on an exercise program with you to keep your blood pressure low.

If you find you need support beyond your family and friends, consider joining a support group. This may put you in touch with people who can give you an emotional or morale boost and who can offer practical tips to cope with your condition.

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Epilepsy Treatment Gap: The Role of the 21st Century Medical Doctor

2020-08-03T20:16:00.002+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G BSc, MBBS(in view)

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Humanity is battling with lots of diseases. While some of these diseases have been eradicated to the barest minimum, a few of which includes Epilepsy have persisted from the days of yore till this modern era due to many factors of which are within and beyond the ambits of human control. Millions of people worldwide have epilepsy but are predisposed helplessly to its debilitating effects due to an obstacle called the “treatment gap” which lies between the patients and their treatments.

Epilepsy is as old as history, and was believed to be a supernatural affliction that requires a spiritual antidote. 2000 years ago, epilepsy was believed to be caused by evil spirits and infectious. Questions arose from all walks of life asking; “Why would an individual suddenly fall unconsciously and then the muscles stiffens with immediate jerky movements of the limbs (convulsion); isn’t such a person possessed by evil spirits?” However, a revolutionary view came up as Hippocrates the father of western medicine declared that men who think epilepsy is divine, merely do so because they do not understand it.

In the 19^th century, John Hughlings Jackson a London neurologist stated that, “seizures were the result of excessive sudden brief electrochemical discharges of energy in the brain. And the character of the seizure depends on the location and function of the seat of the discharges.” Advancements in neuroscience coupled with the incorporation of the electroencephalogram (EEG), demystified the mysterious epilepsy; and it was understood to be a neurological condition which affects the nervous system (the brain), and presents physically in various forms. It is only diagnosed when a person has had at least two seizures that were not part of another medical condition.

Apart from idiopathic conclusions, further research came up with the possible causes of epilepsy of which includes age predisposition, genetic influence, head trauma (accidents), stroke, infectious diseases, and brain tumours. The treatment plans of which includes anti-epilepsy drugs e.g., phenobarbitone administration, and neurosurgery helped to restore hope in epilepsy patients who felt cursed because of the incurable nature of epilepsy, the hindrances it brings, and societal stigma associated with it. Indeed, the economic, social, and health demands of epilepsy on the individual, family and the society are immense.

Evidence abound that Africa with a population of 1.2 billion people records the highest cases of Epilepsy. Nigeria the most populous country in Africa is not spared from the grips of epilepsy as statistics shows that the epilepsy treatment gap which refers to the number of people with epilepsy, who need treatment but do not get it have been widened due to certain factors of which stems from the patient, doctor, and society. The patients contribute to the treatment gap when they do not see need to seek treatment, prefer spiritual rituals, are afraid of drug side effects, seeks alternative-ineffective medicines, are battling with the cost of treatment and travel, and have given-up on themselves. The doctor also contributes when there is error in the diagnosis and treatment plan. On the part of the society, the height of stigmatization, ridicule and disenfranchisement dashes the hopes of epileptic patients.

Standing in the shoes of an optimistic neurologist, there is a strong positive indication that the epilepsy treatment gap can be made as narrow as the eye of a needle. This can be achieved by firstly sensitizing the society through the media to understand that epilepsy is simply an illness of the brain and is not something to be ashamed of, neither is it an evil possession or any supernatural phenomenon. It’s just a common illness like malaria or pneumonia that requires only medical attention. Secondly, encouraging the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and influential Individuals to amalgamate and involve fully in the Purple Day – March 26^th, whereby funds are made available via contributions to assist epilepsy patients, fund research on epilepsy, and debunk myths about epilepsy. Thirdly, the patients are encouraged upon being diagnosis of epilepsy to accept their fate and embrace the palliative treatments with optimism. Advices are given with emphasis laid on being sensitive to seizure auras, avoiding epilepsy seizure triggers e.g., bright lights, television, hypoglycaemia; and avoiding Irregular intake of drugs as it can make epilepsy to become refractory thereby prolonging the treatment plan.

In conclusion, epilepsy is a very common problem in the world. Anyone can be affected irrespective of the social status. Thus, the need to bridge the epilepsy treatment gap with proactive and palliative actions can help restore the threatened dignity of epilepsy patients.

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The role of IoT in Smart Cities: Security and Privacy in Smart World

2020-08-03T20:13:00.003+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas

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Abstract

Smart devices, or Internet of Things (IoT) in other world, are a concept that applies to the electronic objects around us, that is, devices that use built-in sensors to collect data and take action on it within a network. As smart devices collect data about its users, smart cities, they are primary targets for hackers. There are several reports on the web about how vulnerable smart devices are to intrusion and loss of privacy, those online reports also provides details on how routers can be hacked. If the router that connects a smart device is hacked, all smart systems and devices connected to it can be controlled remotely. Hackers will attack anything, from routers, webcams, security systems, sensors, actuators, data storage places and databases, to try to do things like locate their users, and monitor their conversations as much as possible. It is clear that today we know better. But, for how long will it be before we see a smart city locked by hackers in demand for ransom? It is not far from happening, it is a matter of time before it happens. Most of smart devices are heavily dependent on Wi-Fi, which remains directly compromised by a person with average hacker skills. This means, that a smart device could easily be compromised through this point, so that someone could enter the internal computer system, could enter at smart device management console, have access to personal data, and application management system. Smart users should ask if smart devices provide authentication and what kind of authentication if the username and password can be changed, if customer support is provided, if the device collects their personal data and if yes in what level, if the manufacturer has compromised data and if encrypts stored data and automatically updates software. In the U.S, some smart devices sold with the promise of a subscription became useless after the company's decision to shut down the central servers used by the devices to operate, therefore, before a city can be transformed from a classic to a smart one, all the parameters must be taken into account.

Keywords: smart cities, IoT, smart devices, networks, security, privacy

Introduction

In years past, smart devices have been widely used, from smart parking devices, smart lighting and watering trees, to intelligent ways of informing and involving citizens in various activities. The installation and use of such smart devices by both organizations and citizens does not necessarily mean that they have the knowledge that is needed about the safe installation and use of such devices. Smart devices have antennas and emit wireless radiation to communicate with the central device. Examples of smart devices are: smart lamps, smart car parking, smart relays, door-window sensors, movement sensors, and so on. Most smart devices emit high-frequency electromagnetic fields at 2.4GHz such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The central unit of the systems constantly emits, respectively with a Wi-Fi, modem/router. Connected devices emit radiation even in standby mode, so they maintain communication with the central unit. Smart cities have significantly higher wireless radiation rates, as smart devices use antennas that emit 24 hours a day.

On the opposite side, biological effects may be present in a few minutes, at levels related to exposure to smart cities antennas, wireless modems cause full-body exposure. Many of these biological effects can reasonably be considered to have adverse health effects when the exposure is prolonged or chronic. This is because they interfere with the body's normal processes, prevent the repair of damaged DNA, cause imbalances in the immune system, metabolic disorders and reduced resistance to multiple diseases. Necessary body functions can eventually be disabled due to incessant external pressures and lead to diffuse dysfunction of metabolism and reproductive functions. Several thousand scientific studies over the past decades have shown serious biological effects and damage to health from low- and high-frequency electromagnetic fields. Financial interests allow for easy licensing of creating new smart cities without prior research about data security, privacy, encryption, communication security and the effects on human health.

Analysis

The installation of a smart device does not imply knowledge of the security of communications and data, from this point the problems begin. A faulty installation of a smart device or with incomplete configuration is capable of affecting not only the internal network to which it is connected, but also directly endangering the personal data of citizens who have an interface with this device. A recent study on smart device threats states that most of the attacks targeted digital video recorders, IP cameras at 63% while, 20% of the attacks targeted network devices, including routers and DSL modems. China, Vietnam, and Russia, were the top three countries in attack on smart devices, each with a large number of "infected" smart devices. Over time, the attacks will rise dramatically, the reason behind the rise is simple: Smart Devices are fragile and exposed to digital criminals. The vast majority of "smart" devices run Linux-based operating systems, that means with few words Linux Kernel, making it easier to attack them because criminals can write a general malicious code that simultaneously targets a huge number of smart devices from different manufacturers. There are already more than 5 billion "smart" devices in the world which most of them do not have a security method installed, and their manufacturers usually do not release security updates, new firmware, or patches. This means that there are millions of vulnerable smart devices in operation, some of which may have already been compromised.

There are no smart cities, but there are smart cities in the eyes of the public and only as it is impossible for the average user to know the level of security of a smart device nor is it able to know the level of protection of their personal data. Recent analysis have shown that developed countries have developed statistics on the level of security of smart devices and security vulnerabilities after a virtual attack by scanning IP address zones performed by external factors and in several cases showed vulnerabilities and access in the internal network. Smart devices use and transmit a significant amount of personal data related to their narrow private functionality, on the one hand, they come from their users, on the other hand, they concern the same users, such as contact information, geolocation data, financial transactions, searches and various user features. In addition, smart devices can store or log real-time data from many sensors, such as microphones, parking sensors, license plates, and other devices used to operate for the purpose for which they were installed. Although service designers want to provide new and innovative services, these services can pose serious risks to the privacy and reputation of smart device users, smart devices do not always comply with European privacy law, the reason is that the supply of a smart device can be done through the internet and the specific device maybe does not comply by the European Union privacy law, Smart device users should not feel completely secure, as personal data loss has been very popular in the past years.

The issue of security and privacy is very important and unfortunately those who propose such projects do not realize it, since they are interested in the outcome, not the security, they are all sacrificing themselves on the altar of state publicity advertising, ignoring the fact that there are private companies that either operates on behalf of private interests or are funded by governments to scan smart devices to detect vulnerabilities for accessing the internal network and extracting information. The lack of security policies will simply be here to constantly remind us of mistakes and omissions while the citizens will, in turn, be the ones here to always collect the losses of their personal data and the violation of their privacy. A number of smart devices send the user's location and IP address to various servers that are often unrelated to the smart device manufacturer. Sensitive user data leaks to various companies, smart devices where installed in smart cities, leak personal data, even when they are inactive, these data can be channelled to third companies for any purpose, from statistic analysis to tracking specific people. Depending on the manufacturer of the smart device and the software it uses, the data sent could include the user's location, device type and terminal, as well as what services the user uses depending on the time.

The installation and configuration of smart devices installed in various cities to provide various services to citizens should be performed by people who know about smart devices, network and application security. It is no coincidence that several times in the past and several times in the future, smart devices have fallen and will fall victim to attacks that several times have been and will continue to be; since these devices have been shown to be vulnerable to various types of attacks, hackers scanning smart devices to detect vulnerabilities. Attackers can try everything to carry out an attack, for example, to use the "weak" default credentials that have not been changed, to take possession of the weak passwords that are circulated in plain text, or to brute force accounts that have access to the admin web management console. Lack of encryption when transferring data, storing data or to view data transferred over the network. Those who could carry out such an attack may be internal or external attackers who have access to the network to which a smart device is connected. Lack of Transport Encryption in smart devices is a security vulnerability that is common and easily detectable. Such a weakness leaves the attacker who "transferred" through the network or the Internet exposed to the attacker. The consequences of such a lack of protection are serious, as data loss is possible. Depending on the data that has been exposed, there is a possibility that will be exposed to a complete exposure of users' devices or user accounts. Privacy Concern is something that is common in smart devices. This is due to the collection of personal data and in addition to the lack of proper protection. Smart device administrators may review the data collected during the activation of a device and apply the appropriate privacy policy.

Attacks on smart devices will increase in the future as their technology evolves and the cost of acquiring such a device decreases significantly. Also, reduce the complexity of installing a smart device, but unfortunately, there is no automated security model, mistakenly believing that the necessary security settings have been activated by the manufacturer. Illegal access to such smart devices can lead to economic and social disaster. For example, unauthorized access to a smart device that handles the amount of water pumped through a pump could damage the pump, changing its timing frequency, the damage or flooding of the water tank or even shutting down the pump resulting in a city water supply being cut off. There are many ways to compromise a smart device. To compromise the security of a smart device, it is not necessary to violate the smart device first and then the internal network. Vulnerable services are running, backdoor viruses have been created or the network is being monitored by IP packet monitoring programs (sniffers). Remote control viruses can be installed either on the internal network by a user by mistake or intentionally, or at some point where the network is compromised, also, such viruses can be installed by violating the smart device to some extent in order to provide access to the internal network where to escalate rights with administrator capabilities or with a user who has increased permissions that allow the installation of applications. A smart device that is able to perform large-scale services, any breach will cause a major blow as the losses will be severe. Sometimes the selfishness and prestige of some people rushing to advertise to the citizens that a city from classic moves to smart and modern, therefore bypasses security protocols to show superiority to their opponents hastily proceeds to the disclosure of smart services, ignoring the security factor and personal data protection. Organizations are unaware that the more popular the services they offer, the greater the security risk as the services offered become attractive to would-be intruders. The organizations do not understand the dangers of denial of service (DOS) attacks and automated attacks through BOT that will be accepted by smart devices with negative effects on citizens and of course with disgruntled citizens.

The design and study of data security, storage and validity of data and communication is what will really create a smart and secure city, a city where citizens will not be afraid to use smart devices, feel confident and trust the people behind smart devices. Experienced human resources are the ones that should support operation, upgrade and in early detection of threats to prevent them, the scanning of entire IP ranges from external sources to find vulnerabilities should not be tolerated and not be captured as a threat because there was no successful access. The integration of smart devices into access control systems certainly leads to some challenges that need to be addressed. Smart city managers, depending on the rate of integration of services offered to citizens in conjunction with digital security planning, can confuse design jurisdiction between engineers involved in the installation process and security design managers. This new element brings a set of needs, requirements and concerns for these two teams. The old philosophy that just connects something and it works was the sole responsibility of the installation's engineers, it is now a hub for the IT network, which leads to many challenges as both the challenges and the electronic threats have multiplied. Nowadays we have to be responsible for the maintenance of the physical security provided by the smart device, also add the competence of the ownership of the information. Also, human resources are the ones that need to know, configure, and control access points and the level of these access points. While the process of backup and designing Disaster Recovery is essential. It is worth noting here that the selection of the appropriate manufacturer to create a smart city with electronic medium that will meet the needs and requirements of both today's era and the citizens is a key element. There are many smart device components that someone can choose from, but it is important to remember that in this case, it is not just a product option but an approach that has been previously studied and designed properly. Usually, the choice of sensors is made after a series of proposals for the various needs of creating a smart city.

It is taken for granted that software should not be installed from unreliable sources and no attachments should be open to the internal mail of personnel who are on the same network as smart devices, the validity of the sender via e-mail should not only be confirmed by e-mail address but also by e-mail headers. Informatics has changed a lot in the last years, due to the great technological development of electronics. Smart devices belong to this field, over time smart devices will become even smarter by performing more complex processes, on the other hand, the more complex smart devices become, the greater their risk against electronic attacks. Data is at risk, as added new sensors and new devices to the network, possibly creating more risks. The greater the use, the greater the probability of a problem, the data transfer across networks has an impact on their reliability. Data availability is very important for Internet security as it ensures that users can access information resources in both normal and disastrous situations. Data availability also ensures uninterrupted flow of information. Data Integrity protects useful information from being stolen by cybercriminals (hackers) during communication. There are a number of issues, such as the denial of service attack (DoS) or power outages that can affect data integrity. The purpose of data confidentiality is to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information using certain mechanisms and to prevent unauthorized access. For smart devices such as sensors and nodes, data confidentiality means that the data collected by the sensors and nodes should not be transmitted to a single authorized entity. Encryption is a mechanism that ensures the confidentiality of data. Encrypted data is converted to encrypted text. Therefore, unauthorized users do not have easy access to the data.

Specialized personnel with knowledge of security and personal data protection combined with information security study will convince a smart city. Smart city is not the city that will install sensors and provide electronic services to the citizens, smart city is the one that the citizens will trust the electronic services it offers as they will know that their personal data is secure, encrypted while the communications re also protected, the citizens also may feel their transaction security with Smart devices are a given, and finally, the smart electronic device system will continue to work under attack that means a mitigation plan is applied. Focusing on evolving technologies, smart device applications, and in particular, the security and privacy issues that arise during their use, the ever-evolving development of smart devices is about to change the daily lives of ordinary people. There are many benefits to different areas of life. Health, smart travel, parking solutions, smart lighting are some realistic examples. But along with all these benefits, there are certain risks, as the increase in connected devices and the much vulnerability that exist, provide more opportunities for malicious users and cybercriminals to attack. Smart devices that use outdated security protocols that do not support encrypted communication, as well as the huge amount of data generated, incomplete authentication and authorization processes, and the small importance given to security issues, are only few of the key issues that lead to critical personal data and protection problems. As smart devices expands, citizens need to demand better levels of protection regarding their security and personal data, so that they are not vulnerable to third-party surveillance and data leaks. The biggest danger for smart cities is that citizens are slowly giving up their private lives without realizing it, because they do not know what data is being collected and how it is being used. Thus, they may fall victim to the detection, monitoring, logging, and configuration of their character, which implies the continuous violation of the privacy of their personal data. In order to avoid this risk, in addition to the need to adopt security mechanisms, the application of European legislation on the processing of personal data by smart devices should be taken into account. Smart devices are not safe. Smartphone are not safe too; always we must have on our minds 4 things:

1. Surveillance software does not appear in the installed applications list. You will never find surveillance software installed by the eye of view, surveillance software running in the background and is difficult to locate, a smart device packed with pre-installed surveillance software can be delivered to an interested party.

2. Resetting to factory settings may not permanently eliminate the surveillance software. The reason is that this type of software has the ability to copy itself in different locations of the partitions of the operating system, thus activating the smart device the surveillance software run again.

3. Scrambled applications are easily localized, while well- designed applications run on Stealth Mode and extremely difficult to detect even with anti-malware protection.

4. A smart device including smartphones surveillance software can be downloaded to smart devices and smartphones through another application.

Smart Devices divided into 3 levels:

1. Interaction with its sensors.

It deals with how a smart device interacts with sensors to collect information where this information then will be transmitted over the network to other locations for evaluation, processing, or decision making.

2. Interaction with the Internet or other local networks and devices.

It is about the process of interacting with smart devices, that is, how they talk to the rest of the network, which may not only consist of smart devices but of classic information systems. This level also includes the modes of transmission of the sensors for processing, for example, the transmission methods, such as the use of specific data transmission protocols.

3. The level of data publishing, whether it is a cloud application. A device that performs functions in conjunction with the data processed by the smart device, that means actuators.

Of course, it is about making decisions, since the useful information has now been collected and the smart devices will simply execute the result that came from analyzing the information that received from the sensors. There must be a secure connections between the sensor and the smart devices to prevent fake sensor combinations, this involves applying an appropriate security policy to ensure that the specific sensor is the one to be and that through it the sensor will interact with the IoT data in a secure manner. It should be borne in mind that the guarantee of the data that will interact with IoT with the sensor should be ensured because, on the basis of these data, decisions will be made. Smart devices can have a wired or wireless connection. As for the wireless connection, there are many different communication technologies and protocols that can be used to connect these devices. Some of these are ZigBee, Bluetooth Low Energy, Z-Wave, and NFC (or Near Field Communication).

Storing the data is very important, and their perception could feed users with false data. The IoT should use secure and encrypted data transfer methods, storage space must also be safe, any tampering of the storage site poses a risk to both the data and the IoT itself. Creating a secure parallel storage system could control and restore fake files and let users know about it. When transferring the data, some kind of attack on the smart device network, whether can be a man in the middle attack or can also come from the internet. Therefore, an algorithm for the self-protection of the smart device network is needed. There are some algorithms that are used for data accuracy, but without the right security policies, they can not do much. Attackers include smart devices that operate in smart cities in botnets to attack them. Due to the limited security offered by smart devices, hackers can easily include and use such devices as they use zombie computers in botnets, building and maintaining even larger botnets. Having armies of botnets and command and control servers at their disposal, have more power to launch even more effective and efficient attacks. The kernel of a smart device is a red flag for attackers, it could hide malware and logging forever the habits, data, and peculiarities of each user, giving the possibility to external attackers to create an online user profile and be able to know everything from its transitions, lifestyle, transactions, payment methods, habits, and personal data, that means an incorrect security policy, a wrong software, a vulnerable sensor, a vulnerable smart device including actuators, could burn the whole project. It is worth noting at this point, that only last year the attacks on smart devices exceeded 48%.

Unauthorized users should not have access to smart device data management, policy management, firewall, operation, and publishing, the metadata often revealing important data sources. Authorized users should be granted partial access per level and not full access everywhere. Providing full access management everywhere at all levels then a DDOS attack could give complete access. Most of the security techniques that have been created are mainly aimed at the accuracy of the information transferred to the smart device network (for example point to point encryption, firewall policies). Thinking that in case of set-up elements are the sensors and the storage media, the possibility of contamination of the operating system remains second degree, a malware could work for years and log user habits, it will be a back door for the attackers, a back door of violation of human privacy.

The use of default features by the manufacturer itself for example usernames and passwords, makes it a vulnerable smart device network structure including the privacy, anyone who has physical or remote access and knows the IoT model is easy to try to access by identify for its factory settings and factory usernames and passwords. This is a very serious attack, the first thing people have to do is change the default usernames and passwords and in some cases the default settings. User accounts with incorrectly restricted permissions, no password, access to services without user authentication, are red flag for smart device security, can easily break the security of the smart device network that depending on the type of installation in a home will also have consequences. When a smart device is installed in a public place in which there is a computer network that interacts with the smart device, other smart devices, or decision support systems, should be ensured the harmonic communication with each other. If the computing network is unsafe then easily can break smart device security. A smart device can not protect a vulnerable computing network, and a vulnerable computing network can not protect a smart device. It is important that where they store the data either if they will be stored locally on the premises, so there should be a way of data accuracy and backup, while in the case of Cloud the physical access is not permitted, should be ensured encryption of data information stored over there, while is important to create a recovery plan in the case of data lose, data breach or in the case if something goes wrong.

The management of a smart device through a web environment is the backdoor of the network mainly through Wi-Fi networks. The violation of a Wi-Fi and then access to the entire network of the infrastructure allows external attackers to try illegally entering the smart device through its web console, where any successful access, the attackers would have full control over the functions through the sensors throughout the whole smart device infrastructure.

Conclusion

Smart devices will evolve, even more, will be everywhere in our lives and will automatically perform many processes, but the evolution of smart devices does not go hand in hand with its security. It takes generations of change and design of systems and security methods to have truly secure smart devices, and this is not something that can automatically change from one day to the next, it takes time and study. Some solutions to the security problems of smart devices are:

1. Smart Device Updates

Manufacturers of smart devices should regularly release patches or firmware upgrades to the hardware they offer, and manufacturers should also allow users to report to the company any security vulnerabilities and securty issues.

2. Blockchain

Blockchain is essentially a ledger in which information and data are stored and verified, which are usually included in a block, using cryptographic methods and in such a way as to create a continuous data chain, while modifying any recorded information. in the register to necessarily affect all subsequent entries. A blockchain platform can be public (open) or private (closed), respectively with public (via) networks (such as the internet) and internal networks (intranets).

Blockchain technology is coming to radically change this security status. Using mathematics and cryptography, provides an open and decentralized database in any transaction. Creates a record for each transaction that can be verified by the entire community. Combining cryptography and distributed computing systems, blockchain provides secure, peer-to-peer transactions, blockchain technology can also provide a solution to the problem of security and privacy on smart devices, providing a new computing layer where data can be processed. be analyzed safely, remaining private. Implementing these features is expected to ensure a more efficient allocation of resources.

3. Staff Training

The human factor remains one of the most important threats, employees must recognize, understand, and implement the security policies that have been created and must be followed, Citizens' personal data must be secured in any way and must stored encrypted. Any attempt to violate any part or the entire network should be identified immediately and neutralized.

References

1. Christos Beretas. 2020. Smart Cities and Smart Devices: The back door to privacy and data breaches.

2. Christos Beretas. 2018. Internet of Things and Privacy.

3. Brian Russell, Drew Van Duren, 2016. Practical Internet of Things Security.

4. Nitesh Dhanjani, 2015. Abusing the Internet of Things: Blackouts, Freakouts, and Stakeouts.

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THE PRICE OF PEACE AND HARMONY IN EVERY MARRIAGE.

2020-05-24T12:04:00.001+01:00

Written by: Anonymous

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Many years ago I listened to a preacher share about how his wife would leave the television on at night and sleep off and they lived in a country where you pay based on how long you keep the TV on. Leaving the TV on therefore increases the television bill.

That attitude of his wife would annoy him and he was always angry at his wife for doing that yet it continued. It was obvious it was going to become a strain in the marriage.

Then one day while ruminating over this issue, I asked myself, “Is your marriage not worth fifty dollars extra at the end of the month? If this attitude of your wife will mean an extra bill of fifty dollars is it too much to pay for peace to be in your marriage?”

Unlike me, my wife is not a morning person. I can wake up by 2:00 am, work till 5:00 am, go back to bed and still get up by 6:00 am and start my day. For my wife, I literally have to drag her out of bed in the morning. Her day begins only after she has had her bath.

In some homes, the wife is the one who goes to the kitchen to heat up water for the family to bathe. I guess it comes naturally with women. In my home, heaven helps me if I wait for my wife to do that. I will wait for a long time. So I have resolved to make that my responsibility.

Even with the kids, I will still have to be the one doing that in the morning because my wife is not a morning person. If that is the price I have to pay for peace to be in my home, it is worth it. We are talking about the price of peace.

One of my friends shared with me how his wife will never monitor the fuel gauge when driving. It is when the car finally stops that she realizes the car has run out of fuel. Guess who she will call? The husband. He will have to be the one to sort out the problem.

After several of such calls, he had to find a way around it. He ensures the fuel tank is full at the beginning of the week which will take the wife through the week. That way he does not get any phone call that the car has stopped. It is the price of peace for him.

When I was working on this article I requested that people share some of the prices they have had to pay to maintain peace in their homes. I got a lot of responses that revealed that no marriage is perfect. The reason we see certain marriages as better than ours is that the parties in those marriages are ready to pay certain prices to maintain peace in their homes.

Let me share a few of the responses I got.

"In my home, I just have to tolerate my husband’s attitude. He has this habit of talking over issues repeatedly. He can talk, talk and talk when a situation happens and will nag you till you fall over. So to allow peace what I do is try and keep my mouth shut. No argument, no talking back or simply walk away so that peace can reign."

-Ajoke Mariam Osikoya

"I usually don't turn off the lights in a room when I'm done using it. At the beginning of my marriage hubby will tell me to always make sure I do that when exiting the room, but after correcting me several times without change, he decided to just check back anytime I leave a room and will help turn the lights off. He just stopped complaining and started helping me do it. Eventually, I had to determine in myself to be more aware and I've gotten better doing that.

-Olubunmi Adeleye,

"My wife has a thing for matchsticks. After using one, she keeps it for 'emergency'. This act irritates me. No matter how long we discuss this (more than 9 years now) she still does. So I decided to dispose of them and then I offer her a fresh one should an 'emergency' arise."

-Dapo Shodunke

"I don't pressurize my husband to do or not to do anything, especially something he really wants to, or really doesn't want to do. Putting pressure on him will only irritate him. I keep quiet and I pray instead. That way, I have peace and also get what I want. On the other hand, my husband will always hang the mosquito nets, switch off the lights and unplug my phones, because I always sleep off. He has stopped complaining. He will do the job instead."

-Bisola Muktar Mary

Those were just a few of the several responses I got about the price of peace that people are paying in their homes. A lot of other people were encouraged when they saw that they were not alone. You think you are the only one having an issue until you listen to others.

Sometimes we need to do things we don’t like for the sake of peace. If it is not too high a price then why not just do it and move on with our lives? Not every battle is worth fighting.

That is why it is important to be able to lead yourself because for these people whose reports we just read you find that either they or their spouses took responsibility for peace. That is part of what personal leadership is about.

I could have picked a fight with my wife for refusing to get up from the bed in the morning. Hamzah could have picked a fight with his wife for that thing with the matchsticks. Fatimah’s husband could have picked a fight with her for always forgetting to turn off the lights. But personal leadership helped us to take the other route thereby maintaining peace in our homes.

Now, this does not mean you will never have to correct each other in the relationship or continually be in endurance mode throughout the marriage especially when it has to do with abuse. That is a completely different matter. You don’t endure abuse. But instead of fighting over why your spouse always presses the toothpaste tube from the middle, why not buy a second one so that you have yours and he has his, and both of you have peace? Has that not solved the problem?

Share to save a marriage

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Smart Cities and Smart Devices: The back door to privacy and data breaches

2020-05-24T12:03:00.000+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas
Research Title: Smart Cities and Smart Devices: The back door to privacy and data breaches

Keywords: smart cities, IoT, smart devices, networks, back doors, privacy

About the author click link - Christos Beretas Profile

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Abstract

The technological innovation has led societies to the need to design and create smart applications that are combined with smart devices that interact either automatically or after some action by their operators, Such devices range from automatic temperature gauges and active watering in public trees with tree planting to locating empty parking spaces on city streets with the help of smart sensors. All of the above seems nice and harmonious if there were no questions such as:

Are personal data collected from users?

Are these data collected, able to create a personal profile of the user regarding his/her daily habits including the location?

To what extent is the meta-data collected, capable of violating the privacy of personal life?

Data related to users of these services where is it stored and to what extent is their encryption?

If there is, of course, encryption, which if it does not exist is a tragic lack of security.

Are the data collected by users then forwarded to the government or private companies for statistical analysis?

How are personal data ensured that they will not be forwarded to others for other purposes in the future?

How does the use of such services by users, which may include money transactions, ensure that users will not be subject to further financial monitoring?

Smart devices are part of a network, which means that an incomplete configuration of a smart device or installing a smart device that offers incomplete security features and does not meet security standards is capable of providing remote access to the internal network that is connected.

If there is illegal remote access to the internal network to the extent that it will be able to affect the integrity of the data stored, then it can change of use of the operation of the smart device.

All of the above are key questions about the integrity of smart devices, but also the level of security they offer that they are called upon to answer in this article.

Introduction

In last years, smart devices have been widely used, from smart parking devices, smart lighting and watering trees, to intelligent ways of informing and involving citizens in various activities. The installation and use of such smart devices by both organizations and citizens do not necessarily mean that they have the knowledge that is needed about the safe installation and use of such devices.

The installation of a smart device does not imply knowledge of the security of communications and data, and from this point the problems begin. A faulty installation of a smart device or with incomplete configuration is capable of affecting not only the internal network to which it is connected but also directly endangering the personal data of citizens who have an interface with this device.

So there are no smart cities, but there are smart cities in the eyes of the public and only as it is impossible for the average user to know the level of security of a smart device nor is it able to know the level of protection of their personal data.

Recent analysis has shown that developed countries have developed statistics on the level of security of smart devices and security vulnerabilities after a virtual attack by scanning IP zones performed by external factors and in several cases showed vulnerabilities and access in the internal network, then what smart cities are they talking about?

The issue of security and privacy is very important and unfortunately, those who propose such projects do not realize it since they are interested in the outcome, not the security, they are all sacrificing themselves on the altar of state publicity advertising, ignoring the fact that there are private companies that either operates on behalf of private interests or are funded by governments to scan smart devices to detect vulnerabilities for accessing the internal network and extracting information.

The lack of security policies will simply be here to constantly remind us of mistakes and omissions while the citizens will, in turn, be the ones here to always collect the losses of their personal data and the violation of their privacy.

Analysis

As mentioned above, attacks on smart devices will increase in the future as their technology evolves and the cost of acquiring such a device decreases significantly. Also, reduce the complexity of installing a smart device, but unfortunately, there is no automated security model, mistakenly believing that the necessary security settings have been activated by the manufacturer.

Illegal access to such smart devices can lead to economic and social disaster. For example, unauthorized access to a smart device that handles the amount of water pumped through a pump could damage the pump, changing its timing frequency, the damage or flooding of the water tank or even shutting down the pump resulting in a city water supply being cut off.

There are many ways to compromise a smart device. To compromise the security of a smart device, it is not necessary to violate the smart device first and then the internal network. Vulnerable services are running, backdoor viruses have been created or the network is being monitored by IP packet monitoring programs (sniffers).

Remote control viruses can be installed either on the internal network by a user by mistake or intentionally, or at some point where the network is compromised, also, such viruses can be installed by violating the smart device to some extent in order to provide access to the internal network where to escalate rights with administrator capabilities or with a user who has increased permissions that allow the installation of applications.

A smart device that is able to perform large-scale services, any breach will cause a major blow as the losses will be severe. Sometimes the selfishness and prestige of some people rushing to advertise to the citizens that a city from classic moves to smart and modern, therefore bypasses security protocols to show superiority to their opponents hastily proceeds to the disclosure of smart services, ignoring the security factor and personal data protection.

They are unaware that the more popular the services they offer, the greater the security risk as the services offered become attractive to would-be intruders. The organizations do not understand the dangers of denial of service (DOS) attacks and automated attacks through BOT that will be accepted by smart devices with negative effects on citizens and of course with disgruntled citizens.

The design and study of data security, storage and validity are what will really create a smart and secure city, a city where citizens will not be afraid to use smart devices, feel confident and trust the people behind smart devices. Experienced human resources are the ones that should support operation, upgrade and in early detection of threats to prevent them, the scanning of entire IP ranges from external sources to find vulnerabilities should not be tolerated and not be captured as a threat because there was no successful access.

Finally, it is taken for granted that software should not be installed from unreliable sources and no attachments should be open to the internal mail of personnel who are on the same network as smart devices, the validity of the sender via e-mail should not only be confirmed by e-mail address but also by e-mail headers.

Conclusion

Informatics has changed a lot in the last years, due to the great technological development of electronics. Smart devices belong to this field, over time smart devices will become even smarter by performing more complex processes, on the other hand, the more complex smart devices become, the greater their risk against electronic attacks.

Specialized personnel with knowledge of security and personal data protection combined with information security study will convince a smart city. Smart city is not the city that will install sensors and provide electronic services to the citizens, smart city is the one that the citizens will trust the electronic services it offers as they will know that their personal data is secure, their transaction security with Smart devices are a given, and finally the smart electronic device system will continue to work when it's raining and won't be out of order.

References

1. Christos Beretas, 2018. Internet of Things and Privacy

2. Brian Russell, Drew Van Duren, 2016. Practical Internet of Things Security

3. Nitesh Dhanjani, 2015. Abusing the Internet of Things: Blackouts, Freakouts, and Stakeouts

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God Is For Us Not Against Us

2020-04-30T18:10:00.000+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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A lot is happening in our society today; the jaw-dropping crimes, the natural disasters, the awake of deadly pandemics (the novel COVID 19 infection), climaxing hunger crisis and many more. The combination of them all into a soap opera would amount to a super-horror movie. As everyone is watching and a few are praying, it is not out of place for humanity to ask questions and seek urgent answers.

The intriguing facet of this whole breathtaking scenario is that both the believers and atheists are suffering the same ill-fate. The novella law of George Orwell's Animal farm is no longer binding, as all humans are now equal before a microscopic virus. At this point, many are troubled and are asking if God had suddenly turned against humanity; to have allowed disasters to embrace man.

However, God never turned against us, rather in every godly step we took; God had always been for us because He created us in the first place. Yet, it appears as if His awesome presence is unfelt amidst the sufferings and deaths. If one looks closely at the current situation of things in the world, everything looks blurry and unpromising and this has ignited the flames of fear and burnt the robes of courage.

Today, both believers and atheists are observing a lockdown while the economy is going down the drain because the virus is a respecter of none. The global nature of the pandemic whips both the great and small, and closed down places of worship. But then, why should all suffer?

Armies of theories arose, and fingers of blame were being pointed in so many directions, but the Christians knew that it was boldly engraved in the Holy book that nothing can separate us from God our healer, rather than sin. Probably, man has sinned.

However, a speculation beginning with “probably” in this current situation is an understatement for man has been a chronic sinner from the days of yore and the atrocities of man are big enough to warrant the obliteration of the earth.

If we can observe the widely applied Gaussian distribution curve, a bell-shaped curve that looks like a mountain. One would come to realize that there are always a few at the valleys who stay close to the mountain and intercede on behalf of mankind, while the children of Lucifer stand on the peak of the mountain flaunting impunity and insulting the maker of Heaven and Earth. Because of the faithful few, we still have oxygen in the atmosphere today.

Severally, God allowed the destruction of mankind. He allowed fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, the world wars, pandemic and endemic diseases, flash floods. Yes, He allowed them to happen, but He never caused them to happen. He allowed Christ to be crucified but He didn't cause the death of Christ.

We must come to realize that since the fall of man, Doom came and dwelled on Earth; and it always wants to happen if not restricted by God. A wealthy man like Job would have kept living in misery if God never said, "STOP!" to the devil. Surviving a day on earth is all by God's grace. No one who dwells in a world of doom should expect 100% safety, immunity or freedom from temptations, trials, and tribulations conjured by the agents and workers of doom.

Just like the sun shines all over the earth so does the wind of evil blow through the skies, the deserts, the oceans, the mountains, on plane lands, into the keyholes of the doors of our homes and even into the hairy nostrils of the living, whether awake or asleep.

The widespread calamity towards man today might as well be attributed to the fact that many keep silent in the presence of evil. Silence sometimes may not mean being smart. It might as well mean a pat on the back and a go-ahead order for the children of Lucifer to erect skyscrapers while the righteous few dwell in mud houses.

Today, many are religious but not spiritual, many talk of God but admire the devil, many are proud and God has no affinity for them, and many go about their daily businesses every day without saying hi to God in prayers. And when calamity comes, they scream, "God help me!" It now even appears as though the phrase "God help me," is now an involuntary expression emanating from the mouth of both the sane and insane. It is baffling how people can call upon God without trusting in God.

When the plans of God for us do not work out, it is because we have failed ourselves by forgetting that we are the architects of our future. Many voluntarily procrastinate good acts but are zealously proactive in evil ventures, they forget once again that daily acts of today create the future, and when they try to bring the execution of procrastinated acts of today into a brand new tomorrow, it is like dwelling in the past.

If today we fail to plant crops, then there would be no harvest tomorrow, which would translate to hunger and death. If we today decide to keep manufacturing weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, nuclear), and procrastinate helping to build a world of harmony, then we would have been preparing in full anticipation of dwelling in futuristic anarchy that would lead to the end of life.

We dare not challenge God, who are we? Should we not be pencils in the hand of the creator? All we can do is to seek His perpetual mercy and grace. Fortunately, He is a merciful God, no wonder he welcomed the prodigal son and promised the crucified dying thief of eternity in Heaven.

However, because we do not understand the nature of God, we then think He can be against us. It would be foolhardy to believe that God can plot evil against man. God is above and beyond grudges which have been the primary cause of disunity in the world today.

In conclusion, God is fair and square. He can't be against us, because He has been with us right from the womb. All we have to do is to seek His face and He will heal our land. He would divide every red sea and save us from the doomed world, to prove to us that He is not against us.

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Cyber Hybrid Warfare: Asymmetric threat

2020-04-09T16:08:00.004+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas
PhD Candidate (full scholarship) in Cyber Security at Innovative Knowledge Institute, Paris, France.
E-mail: cberetas@ikinstitute.org
Research Title: Cyber Hybrid Warfare: Asymmetric threat

Keywords: hybrid war, cyber war, online threat, cyber warfare, warfare

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Abstract

Cyber hybrid warfare has been known since antiquity, it is not a new terminology nor a new practice. It can have an effect even more than a regular conventional war. The implementation of the cyber hybrid war aims to misinform, guide and manipulate citizens, disorganize the target state, create panic, overthrow governments, manipulate sensitive situations, intimidate groups, individuals and even shortened groups of the population, and finally to form an opinion according to the enemy's beliefs.

Creating online events designed to stimulate citizens to align with the strategy of governments or the strategy of the enemy government is a form of cyber hybrid warfare. The cyber hybrid warfare falls under the category of asymmetric threats as it is not possible to determine how, and the duration of the cyber invasion. The success or not of a cyber hybrid war depends on the organization, the electronic equipment, and the groups of actions they decide according to the means at their disposal to create the necessary digital entities. Finally, cyber hybrid warfare is often used to show online military equipment aimed at downplaying its moral opponent.

Introduction

The cyber hybrid warfare also includes DeepFake, a practice mentioned in Christos Beretas previous research. The cyber hybrid war aims to disrupt and hurt the adversarial state in an organized and targeted manner, mainly regarding the organizational structure of the target state and its functioning. Digital media are used to intimidate citizens, target specific groups of people, disseminate false news between political and military leadership in order to spread hatred and resentment on both sides, to divide the people, and finally the fall of the government, followed by the anger and indignation of the people.

The cyber hybrid warfare is not only and exclusively applied during a period of natural war, it is a kind of war that can be waged for years and of course in times of peace. It is difficult for citizens in a cyber hybrid war to understand the truth and lies. A well-organized cyber hybrid war is difficult for people to recognize as the facts presented are so convincing that it is impossible to recognize them as false. The ways to avoid and protect against such a war are numerous and require knowledge, experience, alertness, high morale, courage and professionalism to deal with such a cyber threat from its birth.

Sovereign states around the world are using the cyber hybrid warfare to blackmail, trap, mislead, both foreign governments and citizens, achieving remote results without the use of physical violence and natural disasters. The cyber hybrid war has come to stay, and it is an emerging form of war - the pressure of the strong against the weak or better of the organized states against the disorganized. As mentioned above, a great DeepFake video is capable of stirring up enormous panic and hatred in a society. It is an asymmetric threat that is increasing day by day.

Characteristics

The cyber hybrid war is an asymmetric threat that is defined when an entity uses electronic means to disturb the peace or spread panic in the target state and launch hostilities or uproot social groups residing in it. A fake video, for example, that will be sent to targeted social groups is capable of sparking riots in the crowd with demonstrations and violence. By reading this one can easily understand the reader that the cyber hybrid war is the result of an entity preceding its onset. This entity is the digital asymmetric threat which if not handled properly then evolves into a cyber hybrid war.

The cyber hybrid war is not tantamount to an isolated practice, that is, it is not a common attack on the adversarial state; rather, it consists of organized methods that are often impossible to identify, such an attack may include social media, online press, videos and hostilities from different events, etc. The difference between a cyber hybrid war and conventional warfare is that except there are no killings and conflicts, there is a constant low-level influx of information affecting the target state. That is, it does not follow the logic that an event has occurred, a number of people have risen and then the digital invasion process has ended, on the contrary, the digital presence is continuous and stable at the same level as possible.

Advanced stages of a cyber hybrid war include practices such as misinformation aimed at the financial loss of the target state, intra-country turmoil from pro-country groups that launched the cyber hybrid war to compel its citizens to withdraw. for the purpose of financial loss or even the overthrow of the government. In a cyber hybrid war, the invaders' practical ways of attacking are not one-sided but two-sided, which means that in one field they can decrease and increase in another, for example, a false bent can be seen in social media news and on the contrary, the volume of fake videos is growing too.

A cyber hybrid war is often won when combine electronic and physical attacks in the target state, which means that in the target state it requires the penetration of disturbing elements in order to revolt and destroy the target state's infrastructure and economy. This includes increasing crime, which will then be used in the media and social media by the adversary state as a means of corrupting the target country with the ultimate aim of reducing its reputation, spreading fear to other countries. aimed at restricting travelers, other countries' security reviews, further financial burden, withering and global isolation.

The success or not of a cyber hybrid war in addition to the proper organization, hardware, and staff, requires and sufficient funding for the whole venture, funding is a key success factor, with insufficient funding the result will be the opposite, as it will unprofessionalism has emerged, and it is easy for social groups to understand that this is fake news, which is equivalent to project failure and redesign.

Funding can come exclusively from the state that organizes the cyber hybrid threat, it can come from friendly countries in it, as well as from organizations that are scattered around the world, usually when a cyber hybrid war is funded by organizations around the world, the communication takes place through social media or smart phone applications that offer anonymous messaging services. At this point it should be noted that there is no formal single practice or specificity in the form of steps that need to be taken to be considered a threat as a cyber hybrid threat, so there is no legal framework defining the steps that characterize that this is a threat to the target state to take legal actions, the legal framework is incomplete and that is something that countries that are waging such wars are very aware of and they are washed.

As technology evolves, asymmetric threats increase as states with sufficient funding and equipment are able to wage such wars on a large scale, which is why the cyber hybrid wars will intensify. That is why governments and security agencies around the world are trying to organize and shield themselves against the cyber hybrid war, now knowing that its impact is greater than even conventional warfare. Preparing, organizing, and preventing such attacks are the basic prerequisites for dealing with the threat.

This entails writing and implementing a cybersecurity policy that outlines the conditions, steps to be taken, education, definitions, and how to handle such incidents. The security policy should be updated annually and adapted to the needs and the level of risk that exists per period. It must adequately specify how government agencies must act in a period of digital asymmetric threat. Allied countries need to formulate a common cyber policy so that dealing with a digital asymmetric threat is unified. It is of no use to allies and friendly countries not to implement a common strategy against digital asymmetric threats. Friendly organized countries can easily trap the enemy and destroy the plans.

Conclusion

The cyber hybrid war is made up of several entities that, depending on the smooth functioning of all entities, are judged to be successful or unsuccessful. It is an asymmetric threat, no one can know the length or the size of the area it will take place. It is a kind of war that with the development of technology will see significant development. An important factor in success is financial support and therefore the amount of money each state is willing to spend to design and implement a credit cyber hybrid war. A well-organized and implementable cyber hybrid warfare can cause severe damage to a conventional one.

It is not necessary for a cyber hybrid war to be designed exclusively by wealthy and developed countries, such a war can be created by any state that has the knowledge, money, and organization to mount an asymmetric threat. In the cyber hybrid war, the chances of convicting states for war crimes are minimized, as in the cyber hybrid war there is no clear legal framework defining the methods of intruders. Identifying a digital threat is difficult due to the complexity of its actions; identifying and neutralizing a cyber hybrid threat requires knowledge and experience of such threats.

Some countries in the world have developed methods and teams to detect and manage such threats, but the measures they take to protect them are found to be incomplete and not fully effective and the reason is the rapid development of technology that new methods and techniques are constantly being discovered. Finally, as has been said above, the best defence is the organization of friendly states to provide a single aid and formulate a unified security policy that will lead to massive isolation of cyber hybrid threats. Unified repression by friendly countries against such attacks is the best-organized defence against hybrid threats.

References

1. Christos Beretas. 2020. DeepFake -Another One Cyber Threat.

2. Andreas Krieg, Jean-Marc Rickli. 2019. Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-First Century.

3. Andrew Fevery. 2018. Hybrid Warfare.

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In times of Anger – the place of Moderation and Silence

2020-04-04T13:47:00.000+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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“If you are patient in the moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” – Chinese proverb.

Anger begins as a raging fire from within the core of a man. It is an emotional state that involves a strong hostile response to a perceived threat. Such persons experiencing anger would mostly have elevated heart rates, high blood pressure, and increased response to unforeseen danger. Inadvertently, such individual dwell in a fight-flight mood. In moments of anger, it is almost impossible for a man to think straight; most people in such moments take harsh and unevaluated decisions without batting an eyelid. And the consequences of their actions later stares at them like a ghost in the dark.

Sadly, it has come to the limelight that the fury of anger between related persons, is often more intensified than that seen between unrelated persons. When brothers kill each other in anger, just like Cain did to Abel, or despise each other unjustly, just like Josephs brothers did to Joseph; it becomes very obvious that we have no peace amongst ourselves because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

One evening while trekking back home, suddenly I saw a brother with all his might, push his sister into a ditch full of sharp woods. Immediately, my heart skipped beats, I was lost in fear, and was yet to believe my eyes. People ran out to see what was happening but the young boy left his wailing sister in the ditch and walked away. Having seen what happened firsthand, I quickly quickened my steps and walked after this young boy. On getting to him, I initiated a conversation by greeting him and I went straight to why I wanted to discuss with him;

“My friend, why did you push your sister so hard?” I asked.

“She just always gets me annoyed,” He replied with a frown on his face.

Already, I could see the veil of guilt covering his face, and then I said to him,

“My friend, what if she has died from that deadly push, don’t you know you would now be a MURDERER? You must be careful about the things you do so that you don’t end up in regrets.”

I left him and walked away. As I walked away, I turned back and discovered that the young boy was now stuck where I left him, and he kept looking at me, while he thought about what I told him. I continued on my journey with a strong conviction that he would turn a new leaf.

We all know that whatever has pros has its cons, and anger is no exception. One must always bear in mind that happiness and anger are close by or distant enemies, depending on the priority accorded to them. The same way happiness motivates a father to bless his children, so does anger provoke the same father to place curses on his children. One striking feature of both happiness and anger is their transient nature. They don’t last long but yet they could leave unforgettable imprints in our life and society.

Anyone wishing away anger from the character of a man is living in a fool’s paradise. Anger has been one of the inerasable natural traits of man. Thus asking people not to get angry over what disrupts or threatens their countenance is just like asking people to wash their eyeballs with soap while having a bath. Even the writer won’t try it. However, teaching people to incorporate the ‘law of MODERATION’ into whatever they are doing, will save lots of people from the attacks of regret.

The law of moderation enunciates that anything on earth that becomes excessive brings nothing but suffering. This principle applies to every attribute of man. Always be imaginative and sensitive enough to weigh your actions e.g., anger on a scale of ‘1 to 8.’ Then mark ‘3’ as the moderation point, you would discover that the consequential effect of anger as it rises from 1 and stops at 3, is less when compared to its disastrous effect when it rises from 1 to 7. The outcome of both raging situations will be totally different.

“It is only when a mosquito lands on your testicles, you will truly learn that there is always a way to solve problems without using anger and violence” – Confucius

You must understand that the law of moderation does not work alone. Other laws such as the law of cause and effect, law of action and reaction, law of attraction, and law of karma, are all either taking place simultaneously or warming up to take place. Thus, the way you hand the law of moderation would affect the results of the other laws governing human life.

Since every attribute of man is temporal, all his attributes are loyal subjects of moderation. A figure that outweighs the influence of moderation is eternal in nature. For example, God is eternal and have no attribute of limitation or moderation. You can’t say, “I have worshipped my God enough.” God is eternal and deserves eternal worship; man is temporal and deserves limited benefits.

We must be wary of extreme life situations, and try to counter it with a wise opposite reaction. A Chinese proverb says, “In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone’s letter.” To not answer anyone’s letter in the midst of great anger presents the power of SILENCE. According to Thomas Jefferson, “When angry count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to a hundred.”

Certain misconceptions have beclouded the importance of silence. Some believe that silence is a sign of weakness; others claim that it is a way of shying away from the problem. However, being silent when predisposed to great anger is gold. It is golden because it prevents the unevaluated actions of a man that brings about catastrophic events and regrets. Some say mean words out of anger, but when the anger is gone, the mean words are irreversible and would have left an indelible scar in the heart of another. Even though they forgive, they do not forget. One cannot reach one's destination if one stops and throws stones at every dog that barks.

With silence, you can show that external factors cannot affect your self-esteem. With silence you create room for the evaluation and check-mating of the situation critically, to ascertain proper measures and uncover if possibly you are at fault. With silence, you have power over the negative energies arising from people and you do not get consumed by them. With silence, the room for dialogue could arise and the possible aftermaths of irrational and devastating actions are contained.

At this juncture, it would be beneficial to re-emphasize that in anger management, we must make adequate room for moderation and silence. When something irritates you, and you discover that your reactions in the form of anger expression are exceeding moderation, it is time to be silent. According to Psalm 4:4-5, “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your bed, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord.”

In conclusion, to be angry is not evil, but to sin as a result of anger is evil. If the law of moderation and the power of silence is adopted, the negative consequences of anger will be stopped. Finally, according to Buddha, “holding to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else, while you are the one who gets burned.” It can be likened to drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Be wise! And do not be punished by your own anger. Unchecked and unrestrained anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.

The limitations of this article:

- This article has failed to address the cause of anger arising from mental illness.

- For mentally ill patients, the need for psychiatric rehabilitation may be of great help.

- Also, such patients should always be included in prayers because man treats but God heals.

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Nipping Cancer in the bud using Phytochemicals

2020-03-25T20:23:00.000+01:00

Written by: Emmanuel Okezie and Muoka Chibuzor

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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Cancer as the second leading cause of death globally has held human health to ransom. In a quest for a cure, man delves into pharmacognosy where he discovered phytochemicals which are chemical substances of plant origin that exerts healing effects.

Cancer is a disease condition characterized by the dysregulation of growth control mechanisms within a cell, and the role of phytochemicals as "disciplinarians" in arresting the suddenly turned cancerous cells has been supported by concrete research evidence.

Phytochemicals had earlier been known to protect plants against harsh environmental conditions as they cannot move when they are stressed. Thus their role in supporting man may not be farfetched.

The growing health worries of cancer has increased worldwide, despite global relentless efforts from scientists which aimed at decreasing the mortality rate. In 2012 alone, the Global Cancer statistical study revealed about 8.2 million deaths from cancer.

In a study published in Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine in 2015, two researchers from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran; used different scientific published evidence from clinical trials to reveal the anticancer potency of phytochemicals.

The authors have reported that modern treatment options e.g., radiotherapy, surgical operations and the use of chemotherapy often evoked strong undesired adverse effects. Thus the strong need for natural phytochemicals with potent anticancer properties.

The authors stressed that current synthetic drugs not only attack cancer cells but also exerts stress on normal cells. Thereby causing cell injury that leads to irreparable cell death. Patients who take chemotherapeutic drugs may present with impaired hematopoiesis features, frequent hair loss (alopecia), and cardiovascular diseases. Cancer patients may even die due to these adverse effects.

To augment for the consequences of chemotherapy, researchers presented phytochemicals as an alternative saviour. In their reports, they revealed that plant-based bioactive substances can be used in the treatment of cancer due to their low side-effects in contrast to the synthetic cancer-treating drugs e.g., antimetabolites used in chemotherapy.

Research began at the preclinical stage with the use of phytochemicals as a cancer remedy in experimental animals. With positive results, further studies and clinical trials affirmed that phytochemical can beneficially influence the cell growth cycle.

Today, plant-derived compounds such as vinca alkaloids and podophyllotoxin have gained popularity in the treatment of cancer patients. These compounds have been found as promising active ingredients present in most chemotherapies.

In this report, phytochemicals present in curcumin, Allium sativum (garlic), green tea, Panax ginseng, Viscum album, camptothecin and resveratrol have been clinically tested in the treatment of a number of cancers such as colorectal, pancreatic, adenomas, prostate, oesophageal, uterine, ovarian and lung cancers.

Natural foods contain Anti-oxidants that fight
against Cancer initiating substances

They showed that cancer patients who were administered a certain dosage of these therapeutic phytochemicals over a given period of time had increased survival time, improved activity of the natural killer cells decreased the spreading of cancer cells (metastasis) and elevated levels of their immune system.

The researchers uncovered that the anticancer effects of these phytochemicals were primarily because they had antioxidant effects; which can reduce the activities of free radicals that accumulate and cause stress to cells, thereby making them cancerous. Other mechanisms of action include their ability to inhibit unregulated cell cycle, initiate programmed cell death (apoptosis) and inhibit the channels through which cancer cells can get blood supply and nutrients.

Notwithstanding the credence of phytochemicals nipping cancer to the bud, the authors have suggested that further studies should be done to help reduce information bias, uncover hidden drug interactions and possible contraindications. They stated the importance of most of these reported clinical trials were done with small groups within a short time-frame.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): Mode of action that raises questions

2020-03-25T20:02:00.000+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas

PhD Candidate (full scholarship) in Cyber Security at Innovative Knowledge Institute, Paris, France.

E-mail: cberetas@ikinstitute.org

Opinion Article: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Mode of action that raises questions

First Submitted: March 21, 2020

Keywords: coronavirus, covid19, covid-19

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This article is a personal opinion article and nothing more

We are all living in the last days a state of panic wherever we are in the world. This panic is justified and owe it to the well-known Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) as it is officially called. The virus causes from mild to very severe symptoms, such as acute respiratory infection, that is, ARF pneumonia (Acute Respiratory Failure). Symptoms of the virus start from a cough, fever with tithing slowly, tiredness, and shortness of breath.

So far there is no vaccine or antibody that kills the virus. The treatments are based on antibodies created to treat the flu and pneumonia. Experimental tests of cocktail antibiotics are also used which act on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the patient's physical condition, concomitant illness, and age.

The way of virus actions have triggered a number of questions that I'm sure they will be of concern to you, whether you have been involved or have not found answers Important questions remain unanswered, such questions are:

· The first patient, how was he/she infected by the virus?

· In the country where the virus first appeared, did they allow the sale of animals that had been used as experimental animals before?

· Is allowed to sell laboratory cloned animals?

· Is it permissible to import from outside of the country laboratory created cloned animals?

· Is there evidence that animals or seafood , have the virus spread or been infected?

· Are there any announcements or publications from government sources about the study, safety and protection against such corona-viruses in the past?

· Does virus analysis show mutations based on the corona-virus structure?

Focusing on time actions of the virus, again causes questions, ranging from 2 to 14 days with an average of 5 days. Sound like the virus have hooks and try to get into the human body. By adding amino acids, a virus that could threaten humans could easily mutate.

Sound like the virus enters the human body, and after it enters, stays there and shows signs of existence after a few days, this could be concealed in such a way to protect itself to not detected and kill it early before infect the human body, also by this way may hide the exact date of infection, so that the place of infection is not easily detected.

Analyzing the above reminds me a bit of the way HIV works, where after about a week those infected with HIV show flu or simply cold symptoms, then the symptoms subside and the carrier stays asymptomatic for years, spreading ignorant the virus.

Considering all of the above, to behave the way COVID-19 might behave, this virus may be made in the laboratory, as a biological weapon that was either accidentally escaped, or applied as a test under real conditions, or for some purpose, by whom; unknown.

People who believe it is a biological weapon could think of two scenarios, the first being a real-life test, and the second being that the virus escaped from a laboratory by accident in an experimental animal or a worker.

Whatever the reality is, I hope very soon all of this will be over and everything will return to normal in our lives.

References

PhD Candidate in Cyber Security (Innovative Knowledge Institute) Paris, France.

Member of Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society, Alpha of Ohio, USA.

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DeepFake - Another One Cyber Threat

2020-03-08T18:35:00.002+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas

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Corresponding Author: Christos Beretas. PhD Candidate in Cyber Security at Innovative Knowledge Institute, Paris, France.
E-mail: cberetas@ikinstitute.org
Policy Paper Title: DeepFake: Another one Cyber Threat
Keywords: deepfake, deep-fake, deep fake video, deep fake photo, algorithms

Abstract

In recent years, with the innovation of information technology, they have introduced various kinds of new applications, many of which were created for satirical purposes, but have quickly moved to the opposite side, and skeptical people are using DeepFake technology to gain profits and publicity, breach of personal data and fulfilment of strategic goals whether they come from political opponents or the interests of third parties, DeepFake technology quickly became abusive and exploitative. It has led people who virtually involved in photos and videos to lose their jobs or even lead to social exclusion. DeepFace is a profitable business around the world, as long as reflect on the extent of the problem, as soon as 2019 the fake videos have doubled and all research is showing an anodic trend. Technology is a flagship, the use of technology against humans makes technology the biggest enemy.

Introduction

DeepFake tends to become the main threat worldwide because it is not easy to detect a fake image or a fake video. The main reason for DeepFake is to humiliate famous people, which is why most DeepFakes are pornographic videos aimed to humiliate famous people. Of course, DeepFakes is used in other areas not only in pornography but also in government agencies around the world as a lever to oppress the morals of third parties who are in opposition or who are leaders of third countries. DeepFakes can also elect a government, a well-established DeepFakes-based communications strategy could mislead and stimulate a significant share of voters, as people tend to believe what they see, this is something that is difficult to reverse. Many times fake videos have been presented in courtesies by distorting the facts, neither have the cynical activities of corporate executives or even blackmailing corporate executives in order to misappropriate money from these companies.

Artificial Intelligence

The evolution of artificial intelligence has undoubtedly heightened DeepFake videos, nowadays it is easier than ever to create DeepFake videos. Technologically advanced countries with the most advanced artificial intelligence capabilities involving access to large volumes of data will create enormous problems in the technological world as the creation of deepfake can pose a global threat not only to the digital world but also to the real world, due to false pretexts, triggering outbreaks of violence, security problems, social and political problems.

Nowadays, thanks to artificial intelligence, these kinds of applications have been significantly improved, so that users are able to pick a video on their computer from whichever medium then, they download from a free library from a neural network and associate the person they want, then the ability to replace the face of the video with the simple push of a button.

The following Figure 1.1 illustrates the process of creating DeepFake.

1.1 – DeepFake Production Steps

As shown in the above diagram, the Encoder extracts facial image features and the Decoder is used to redesign the facial image. The key to changing the two pairs of photos is the existence of an Encoder and Decoder, because each pair is used to parse a picture and to parse a picture both parameters are used in common. The above technique allows the Encoder to learn the facial features and identify the similarities that exist where the new facial reconstruction is then performed.

As artificial intelligence evolves, the potential for more profound DeepFake video increases, as the proficiency of DeepFake video increases, so do people's trust less social media networks and the media generally as they realize how fake manipulative news is everywhere, DeepFake as the number one digital threat. The reason is simple, uncontrollable use of artificial intelligence that in quotation marks could be called (immunity) enables people in power to cause discomfort, financial impact, defection, hatred, create political tensions, manipulate citizens to the extent that they can even lead them to civil or non-civil wars.

It is a global threat as anyone can manipulate a third party, thanks to the freedom of using artificial intelligence such applications become more accessible and easy to use, allies in the process are social media that reproduce without examining fake content and affects the honour and reputation of the citizens

Literature Review

DeepFake is a global threat for all areas, including privacy, personal life disorder, hostilities, political unrest and much more. Research done in recent years have shown that there are 14,678 videos online or 96% of them where these DeepFake videos are pornographic, which means either that they have a purely intentional purpose to create this fake video to discredit this person or to satisfy their personal ambitions and fantasies. The remaining 4% includes videos created for political manipulation and propaganda, as well as satirical videos. 90% of DeepFake videos feature popular actors, artists and politicians. In most cases of pornographic content are actresses who are embodied in pornstar bodies.

Conversely, men embodied in images and videos do not come from the porn sector but mainly from the political and artistic sector. 2/3 of pornographic videos are made up of people who live in western countries, while 1/3 show people who do not live in western countries. In conclusion, in most cases DeepFake video creation is pornographic content with a Western faces as a protagonists. With the advent of Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) which are nothing more than two neural networks that include a synthesizer, a generator, and a detector where they then create images and videos with the advantage of repeating the whole process until they are attained. of the end result. It is a very good and effective method of creating DeepFake.

Research on DeepFake video refinement are ongoing, the video production industry is profitable, and of course anyone can order the video of interest for the purposes of interest.

Figure 1.2 below presents the 3 most popular DeepFake creation techniques.

1.2 – DeepFake Generation Techniques

There is currently no reliable method for tracking DeepFake as the evolution of artificial intelligence is great as is technology. The algorithms currently in place are not enough to detect fake video and photos. DeepFake's effort to develop tracking tools is steadily growing by creating online communities to collect and share information to develop integrated tools.

On the other hand, DeepFake creation tools have made their appearance, which sleeps from low to high cost, easy and versatile to use. As time goes on, more and more DeepFake creative tools will make their appearance due to the impressive result the attraction is great even for political purposes.

Figure 1.3 show the increasing number of websites that host fake video and it is precisely the increasing number of fake video.

1.3 – Increase of DeepFake

Increased user interest in artificial intelligence for the development of fake video and the further improvement of Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) technology has led to a real boost in the number of research projects, as seen in Figure 1.4.

1.4 – GAN Papers Increase

Survey of how threatening DeepFake is in 2019 revealed that 88% of Americans believe DeepFake causes harm, as opposed to 47% of Americans who believe there is a slight chance of falling victim of DeepFake. The reasoning behind the people who participated and answered negative (47%) responded with the reasoning that DeepFake is affecting public persons, the purpose is to pervert a public person and not a non-public person.

No one would be interested in watching a DeepFake video showing unpopular people. 1 in 10 men in the above research believes DeepFake should be legal but with restrictions. 25% of Americans believe they are afraid of falling victim to DeepFake, which includes more social and popular people who are heavily involved in society. 21.6% of Americans do not trust the media believing that they are manipulated. Over 60% of Americans believe that DeepFake can be used in elections to influence voters. 82.1% believe that in the next decade they will be much more skeptical of the news they are reading online.

It is increasingly clear that DeepFake is a global digital threat, lacking a legal framework with a strong growth trend and uncontrolled action. The following Figure 1.5 (blogs.forbes.com) shows a well-known search engine visitor searches of the words “deepfake”, “deep fake”, “deep fakes”, “deep fakes”.

1.5 – DeepFake Search Percentage

Key Consideration

As discussed in the previous chapter, there are several techniques for creating fake images and videos, the research presented undoubtedly showing the seriousness of the problem and how uncontrollable it is, is a global digital threat to privacy, to humans, and ethics. So far, it is worth noting the following assertions that are all essential.

• There is a lack of legal framework worldwide, and this may well suit some people around the world who want to take advantage of technology for personal prosperity.
• Research about DeepFake's are fast-paced, and research teams are trying to continually improve the quality of the output.
•There are confusion and abuse of people who are alleged to be involved in videos without their will, many times that these videos are offensive and violate human dignity.
• Politicians lack the legal framework to use technology to kill opponents.
• Governments use technology to expose third-country governments to blackmail.
• Media manipulation, proprietary material designed to influence citizens, members of corporations and entrepreneurs.
• They cause social exclusion to people who are involved in either videos or photos that have been targeted and believe that they have been tricked into doing so as a result of their financial destroyed.
• Offending morals and desires, people are reminded of being involved in videos that offend their faith, morals and habits.
• When DeepFake is used for social killings and hatred to launch hostilities against individual people or communities.
• When a global digital threat arises without the corresponding interest in countermeasures.

Challenges
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, coupled with the increased zeal of research teams to refine the result, the global community has to address the following challenges.

• Detection and isolation of fake videos.
• Creating a legal framework.
• Restriction on the use of artificial intelligence with terms.
• Protection of personal life.
• Creating a legal framework for fake videos in the media.
• Working groups to create countermeasures.

Recommendations

DeepFake undoubtedly has an impact on society, democracy, ethics and causes a worldwide digital threat. DeepFake's detection methods are not sufficient and unsatisfactory. A number of suggestions are presented below.

• Initiate research into the use of Blockchain to detect fake videos and photos.
• Creating a legal framework that will be able to determine what is permitted and not and to what extent the affected can legally turn.
• Create research teams that will analyze DeepFake's creation algorithms and try to refocus their creation techniques.
• Creating algorithms that could parse the structure of a fake video to prove whether the video was original.
• Creating a database of real videos so that the comparison with the real video and a fake one could be compared.
• Create an algorithm for analyzing video and photos at the code level to detect suspicious points.
• Create an algorithm that focuses on the images presented to examine their distortion.
• Create an algorithm to detect fake photos that will control the image density for lesions.
• Search for a photo on the internet looking for a duplicate of another name on the internet.
• Creating algorithms for Video in frame by frame level analysis to detect cut points.
• Creating a face detection algorithm that detects changes in facial features during video playback.

Conclusions

People's confidence is slowly starting to diminish in the media. As they are beginning to believe that what they see or read may not be what they actually happened. DeepFake can cause discomfort and hatred for people or to the people who are targeting in one community, increasing the chances of violence, conflict and racial discrimination. DeepFake is a global digital threat and has come to stay, researches for fake video refinement are on the rise, and the DeepFake technology of either video or images is becoming increasingly accessible.

DeepFake is a global digital threat because the creators of such videos and photos do not need to disseminate this material on social media, behind this design there are process flow charts choosing media they know in advance to disseminate fake news to the fullest extent. Therefore, there is a network of people who are not liked is karatom, such a tactic is shown by intelligence services acting on behalf of government officials acting against third party leaders, the nation itself or even sabotage.

Quite often videos are presented in courts and based on these videos are targeted against people which may be unfair, there is no credible and valid mechanism to verify that the videos presented in courts are real, and yet these videos are judged people and lives and families are being destroyed. With all that has been clearly stated in this policy paper, DeepFake is a global digital threat based on lies and fraud, mercy-free fraud without restrictions.

As has been mentioned above, it is very difficult to detect fake images and videos, due to the continuous refinement existing in artificial intelligence applications. Algorithms have been designed to detect fake images and videos, which in practice have been found to be inadequate. The reason for creating this policy paper is to report the real global problem that is equivalent to a global uncontrolled digital threat, and to suggest to policymakers some algorithms and techniques for making fake videos and images easier to find.

References

Figure 1.1 miro.medium.com
Figure 1.2 lilianweng.github.io
Figure 1.3 technology-info.net
Figure 1.4 technology-info.net
Figure 1.5 blogs.forbes.com
Literature Review zdnet.com
Research / Analysis The State of Deepfakes: Landscape, Threats, and Impact (regmedia.co.uk)

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Bronchoscopy: A not-so-innocent invasive examination

2020-02-26T19:41:00.000+01:00

Written by: Christos Beretas
PhD Candidate (full scholarship) in Cyber Security at Innovative Knowledge Institute, Paris, France.

E-mail: cberetas@ikinstitute.org

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Date: February 16, 2020

Dedication: This short research is dedicated to my Father Panagiotis, who recently died.

Keywords: bronchoscopy, hemoptysis, death, complications, pneumonia

Abstract

Bronchoscopy has for many years been the only invasive examination used to screen for bronchus in real time, remove objects that have entered the airway, healing properties, and finally a sample including missing tissue for biopsy for the right follow up medical evaluation and treatment. The usual examination is performed by a flexible bronchoscope which does not cause much discomfort to the patient and causes few complications, complications such as bleeding, cardiac arrhythmias, fever, pneumonia, death, introduction and exacerbation of infection, etc.

This short research is about to overturn this nice and enjoyable environment that has been created regarding the safety of this invasive examination that will eventually and happily very soon be replaced. The present short research is here to overthrow the benefits of bronchoscopy and present the reality as this has not been presented to patients before undergoing an invasive examination that may not eventually need to be done.

Introduction

Very easily, mainly after a CT scan, a PET/CT has appeared in our lives to improve the quality of imaging data, also including the case but not always the lack of knowledge, recommend that patients undergo an invasive bronchoscopy. that the diagnostic process in short time will end, and the patient is transferred to the next stage of treatment, but if the patient never reaches the treatment stage and is instead hospitalized with complications? according to the literature, it is reported that bronchoscopy is performed by an experienced physician, how can the patient know if the physician is experienced or not?

How can the patient know if during the examination they will not contribute to the examination and trainees which is prohibitive in certain coexisting lung diseases where particular experience is required, such as a patient with bronchectasis, COPD, tec, who they need bronchoscopy from a very experienced physician. Is the procedure is followed of informing the patient prior to bronchoscopy about the pros and cons of the examination as well as their complications? Finally, is it worth doing a bronchoscopy which, depending on the clinical picture of the patient, may eventually have the opposite effect? bronchoscopy is not for everyone.

Analysis

Bronchoscopy is an invasive examination performed in public and private hospitals as well as in private diagnostic centers and clinics. Before conducting the examination blood tests are performed, including blood and cardiology tests, so, how many tests for a diagnostic examination that is considered safe? The complications that it presents contradict the advantages, advantages that in cases depending on the severity of the patient are disadvantages. Advantages that become disadvantages when one of the following reasons are met.

1. Inexperienced Invasive physician

2. Bronchoscopy by trainees (depends on case).

3. Inexperienced staff.

4. Hygiene conditions.

5. Disinfection, cleaning, and sterilization of a bronchoscope.

6. The clinical picture of the patient.

7. Consideration of medical examinations to avoid bronchoscopy.

8. Inform the patient about the complications of bronchoscopy.

When one or more of the above is not observed, then the patient is at high risk, as the complications of the bronchoscopy examination can cause the patient even more serious damage than the disease itself led the patient to bronchoscopy. What safe examination are they talking about?

Is there a mortality rate of about 0.5% these patients were aware of the complications? should they have done bronchoscopy? have the hygiene rules been adhered to or fallen into a category of the above 8 listed? Although international literature indicates guidelines for safe bronchoscopy examinations, does the patient know whether the guidelines are being followed?

One of the major complications of bronchoscopy is bleeding, ranges for example from low 10ml to 150ml which is very high. It is a serious complication that needs to be addressed immediately since its origin is complex, it can come from many areas such as pulmonary capillaries, pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and finally large thoracic vessels. Bleeding is directly related to the biopsy, in most cases bronchoscopy is performed to obtain a biopsy, an experienced physician in a burdensome patient with a history who knows before, noted here the bronchoscopy requires the patient to hold already a CT, which will require a CT scan. is the one who will judge it must be done, if it is to be done, to pay attention, what requires observation, coexisted, possible complications, time of examination in relation to the severity of the patient, the participation of trainees or not, and how to get a sample.

There are two types of sample deficiencies: endobronchial and transobronchial biopsy, transobronchial biopsy causes the patient and most bleeding, here is a big question, in patients with bronchiectasis, or similar medical cases that usually occur in these medical cases colonies and bacteria such as pseudomonas aeruginosa that are usually resistant to antibiotics, a transobronchial biopsy is responsible for burdening the patient's clinical picture? Thus, correlated the bleeding with the number of biopsies and how they were obtained. Considering the fact that patients with congenital diseases, medicines that are taken for various important reasons, a bleeding can reach or exceed 40% depending on the case of patients undergoing bronchoscopy. So why should they do a bronchoscopy? The treating physician should be able to judge the overall picture of the patient in order to be able to make a correct diagnosis, taking into account patients with a poor medical history considering the negative aspects of a bronchoscopy, however, bronchoscopy is an invasive risk examination depending on the patient's physical condition and medical history. Bronchoscopy examination is not for everyone.

It is concluded that the bleeding of the patient after bronchoscopy implies with further clinical progress, although the incidence of sudden death is small as has been mentioned above. Small bleeding can be easily treated large bleeding to stop may require laser and even surgery, the patient must consider all options and exhaust all parameters. It is worth considering whether it is worth the effort, pain and risk to perform a bronchoscopy examination that no one can guarantee his or her physical situation after the examination is completed.

Most complications that have occurred during the examination or thereafter have to do with how to obtain and receive biopsy material. Such cases are brushes that have broken down or have not worked properly. Continuous aspiration during the examination may lead to hypoxemia and atelectasis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most frequently transmitted organism from an inappropriate bronchoscope (see above 8 reasons) which has not been properly disinfected and cannot be used. Using such a bronchoscope is a criminal act against the patient.

During bronchoscopy, patients have been observed to have increased blood pressure and increased heart rate, this is due to increased oxygen demand from the myocardium which may then lead the patient to arrhythmias and ischemia. Cardiac arrhythmias that occur after bronchoscopy confess hypoxemia. Particularly in COPD patients with hypercapnia hypoxia is contraindicated for flexible bronchoscopy. It is worth noting at this point that complications of bronchoscopy often occur when there are concomitant diseases such as pneumonia or tumor, as well as the type of forceps to be used, that is toothed or non-serrated forceps.

In patients with chronic bronchiectasis, the physician should consider all indications for the overall picture of the patient and whether or not to perform the bronchoscopy. It is the physician that will analyze the patient's respiratory function and the degree of criticality. It should also be borne in mind that some patients with infections will need antibiotics after bronchoscopy, these patients likely to need antibiotics that will be able to deal with germs and bacteria that are resistant. These patients are more likely to develop febrile episodes as well as critical respiratory function.

The physician is solely responsible for analyzing the pros and cons, it is the one who weighs the benefit of the risk. Patients with bronchiectasis should not be bronchoscopied by trainees or by physicians who rarely perform bronchoscopy. When these patients show haemoptysis, the detection of bleeding is crucial. Finally, bronchoscopy in COPD patients is particularly burdensome compared to non-COPD patients, COPD patients should be evaluated on the findings of their clinical trials together with medical evacuation before performing the bronchoscopy. Assessment of potential advantages over advantages must be evaluated.

Conclusion

Bronchoscopy is a conditional safe examination when all safety rules are met, medical evaluation is performed separately for each patient, each patient is different. Bronchoscopy is not for all patients, generally described as a safe invasive examination but with so many complications that there are people who have had a bronchoscopy and have not returned home, is this safe medical examination they say? it is not a safe medical examination, it is a safe conditional examination, evaluating the clinical picture of the patient in combination with the degree of experience of the physician and the clinical picture of the patient judging its effectiveness.

Patients with co-existing health problems, should be assessed for the advantages of screening in conjunction with screening complications. Physicians should not be dragged into the altar of the rapid effect of detecting the problem by undergoing bronchoscopy in patients who are not allowed to do a bronchoscopy based on physical or medical pre-existing health conditions. It is a medical examination with uncertain complications sometimes simple, sometimes heavy and sometimes deadly.

Classical bronchoscopy has begun to come to a second myrrh as soon as virtual bronchoscopy is implemented and thus the complications of classical bronchoscopy will be eliminated. Bronchoscopy should be chosen as a medical examination after all other medical examinations and methods have been utilized and under conditions based on the clinical picture of the patient, in strict compliance with the hygiene guidelines.

References

Kovaleva J1, Peters FT, van der Mei HC, Degener JE. 2013. Transmission of infection by flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy and bronchoscopy.

Pereira W Jr, Kovnat DM, Snider GL. 1978. A prospective cooperative study of complications following flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

Kreider ME1, Lipson DA. 2003. Bronchoscopy for atelectasis in the ICU: a case report and review of the literature.

Trouillet JL1, Guiguet M, Gibert C, Fagon JY, Dreyfuss D, Blanchet F, Chastre J. 1990. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy in ventilated patients. Evaluation of cardiopulmonary risk under midazolam sedation.

Hanson RR, Zavala DC, Rhodes ML, Keim LW, Smith JD. 1976. Transbronchial biopsy via flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope; results in 164 patients.

Da Conceiçao M1, Genco G, Favier JC, Bidallier I, Pitti R. 2000. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy during noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease with hypoxemia and hypercapnia.

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When Imagination becomes Dangerous

2020-02-11T15:35:00.001+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” – Carl Sagan

“Let us create man in our own image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” This was an imaginative expression uttered by God in the book of Genesis – 1:26. God imagined before going into creativity. He never went into action before imagining. Indeed God was the father of Imagination and founder of optimism.

According to Wikipedia, Imagination is a cognitive process (mental action) used in mental functioning, it involves psychological imagery which is powerful. Imagination embraces thinking about possibilities which can be in the positive or negative direction. Imagination broadens with exposure and strengthens with frequent relationship to its stimulants. Several research works have come up with what is called the “Mind’s Eye.”

Does the human mind have eyes?

Dear readers lets drink from the oasis of research to quench our thirst for profound understanding.

The human mind is like an invisible world on its own. Each of its activities occurs with brainy inputs and assistance. The brain is part of the visible, tangible world of the body; but the mind is part of the invincible transcendent world of thought, feeling, attitude, belief, and imagination. The brain is the physical organ most associated with the mind and consciousness, but the mind is not confined to the brain.

The mind is said to be the faculty of an entity’s thoughts and consciousness. The mind holds the power of imagination, recognition, and appreciation, and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes and actions. The mind cannot do without the inputs of the five sense organs that includes – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Amongst the 5 senses, sight is the most powerful!

Even though we can visualize things externally using our physical eyes, the human mind can also visualize things using what is called the mind’s eyes. The condition of not being able to internally visualize (the lack of a functional “mind’s eye) imagery is called Aphantasia. It was described by Francis Galton an English psychologist, in the year 1880.

It is very obvious that when we see things and we are wowed or repelled, we often still go back to think about the encounter, and then bring the substance of our understanding into the mind where we awaken the power of imagination and beam it’s ever bright ray on the subject of interest for intensified scrutiny. With the mind’s eye, we internally visualize the subject matter in a three-dimensional perspective, trying to know the possibilities that are associated with what we have.

Alas, just like cataract and glaucoma attacks the physical eye, the mind’s eye is being attacked by agents of fear and pessimism. Since the fall of man, imagination has taken a devastating dimension and is on a highway to the grave. God as the father of imagination and the greatest physician has unaligned Himself from the viruses that have attacked the imaginative capacity of man.

God as the greatest Ophthalmologist has prescribed even the holy spectacles by giving us His holy word, embedded in the Holy Bible so that we can read it and fill both the physical eyes and mind’s eyes with positive possibilities. But yet, many are perishing because they threw away the holy spectacles and are viewing the world from the devil’s glasses, microscopes, telescopes that show nothing but agony, misery and impossibilities.

Imagination becomes dangerous when we become afraid of the future and instead use our mind’s eyes to always imagine negative possibilities and impossibilities. Most nations of the world today are in shambles because they lack the power of positive imagination and possibilities. When we fail to see nothing good, but everything bad about ourselves and our fellow humans then we are trekking towards wars and self-destruction. And at the end, we would have lived an unfulfilled life, while having sown seeds of discord amongst the young.

People become confused and afraid of the future because sometimes, the devil lures us to see the future from an unbelievable distance. Just like he took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and then he said to Jesus, “all these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” - Mathew 4:9

There is nothing wrong with predicting or seeing the future, but the problem comes from who leads you to see the future (the source)? Was it you (by self-power), the devil, or God? If you were lead by yourself and by the devil then you are heading for doom for they are wrong sources of direction. This is because the future is always mightier than the present and it’s in the hands of no man or devil to decide. Your unknown future is in the hands of the all-knowing God.

Immediately you see the mighty future from the wrong source, the wrong source pushes you to cross the bridge before getting to it. Dear readers, that’s a problem. You don’t cross the bridge until you get to it. While being ambitious, stop worrying about the bridge, because the devil and negative imaginations will show you 10,000 reasons why you should either seek an alternative route or stay away from the bridge. The bridge in this context is a challenge to be conquered. Some people bring a fearful future into their lives because of who they listen to; some bring the future rapidly by harvesting unripe fruits and God frowns at such impatience.

It was evident that God created man but never gave him the full ability to create but rather He felt that his basic responsibility was the full ability to control what He created. Imagination and creativity were primitive in man until he ate the forbidden fruit and then he began the first textile and fashion designing industry. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” – Genesis 3 vs7

Thus man’s imaginative capacity and ingenuity rapidly came to limelight, but it came at the cost of death because the wrong source (the serpent) showed them the future and encouraged them to cross the bridge before getting to it. I think that the future was to be unveiled later to man; because the actions of controlling were to prepare man for a creative and imaginative lifestyle. However, if the plans of God are of good and not of evil, of prosperity and not of calamity; it would not be out of place to say that God was still preparing man for his imaginative task. But the devil gave a fast alternative and man became imaginative without any teacher. We must be wary of who gives us advice on how to secure our dreams and ambitions.

If your poor imaginative capability makes you keep worrying about the future, then you waste the chunk of energy required to make the present better on uncertainties. According to Dee Staah, “If you have one leg in the past and the other in the future, you will be pissing all over the present. So do it all today because you are not promised tomorrow.” The future should be a source of motivation and not a source of anxiety. Mahatma Gandhi also said, “The future depends on what we do in the present.” Thus, it’s a pity that lots of people spend the present worrying. We worry a lot on what to wear, eat, become; where to go. It doesn’t mean we should not make plans for tomorrow or plan on how to avoid devastating circumstance, but unwarranted anxiety is as a result of negative and destructive imaginations.

Some people can even sit and think about all forms of evil that can happen; they believe that bad events are encoded in the DNA; they are the pessimists of the pessimists. They build lots of obstacles in their imagination, entertain all nature of negativity, and build an armoury of fear. Consequently, the armies of courage are always defeated. Their natural tendencies towards anxiety and worry are unparalleled and are hijacked by dubious beings, and then they wonder of all the evils that can happen as they eat, travel, read, love, school, trade etc. How then can such a person live his full potential? To spend time worrying is a sheer waste of time and energy. Most times, what we worry about may never happen. According to Fulton Oursler, “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves who are the regret for the past and the fear of the future.”

Life is a mystery, fear not about the future because fear is the greatest enemy of man. The bible is the most potent antidote against the fear-filled venoms of the serpent. With God, you cannot be accused nor tormented by the devil. We have about 365 fear-not in the bible. The bible is the holy spectacle of God, see through it. The mind's eyes must be engineered for productivity and not for destructivity; being optimistic and imaginative even though we are imperfect, is living up to the expectations of God. God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power (energy and authority) and might. Avoid states of worry and hyper-anxiety because they are not of God, instead, let all your problems be made known to God in prayer and then go about your daily life activities with faith.

Finally, everything worth doing is worth doing well. Every adventure is a risk but always inquire if it is worth the risk? Weight your possibilities and strive to see the lights in dark clouds. If you toss a coin, either head or tail you get. Therefore think big always and leave the chains of destructive imagination under the rain for it to rust away.

References:

1) Holy Bible – The creation, the fall of Man – Genesis, the temptation of Jesus - Mathew

2) Wikipedia.com – Imagination, the mind

3) Sharecare.com – Difference between mind and brain

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An expository on Child Abuse and its consequences

2020-01-28T14:46:00.001+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor. G BSc
Contributor: Dr Peter Chimnuolumogu

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(This article was first written by Muoka.C.G as "The Menace Child Abuse" in June 2019, and it was reviewed by Muoka.C.G and Dr Peter Chimnuolumogu on January 20th 2020)

Once upon a time, a day came when men were embittered with the issue of childlessness. They were so troubled and could not sleep, thus they were forced to plead with the Creator of the universe – the giver of children. After several years of prayer, the Creator replied them saying: “I have seen an evil that haunts the innocent infants of man. Child abuse is an ungodly and inhumane act. Humans are warned to desist from it!” Having heard the unhappy and admonishing words of the creator, all the guilty men, acknowledged their mistake and sought forgiveness. When the Creator saw the sincerity of their hearts and their attainment of maturity, He forgave them and blessed them with the priceless gift of a child.

According to Wikipedia, child abuse is defined as physical, sexual, and psychological maltreatment; including the neglect of a child or children, especially, by a parent or a caregiver. It is crystal clear that the result of child abuse is of great harm to both the victim and society. The aftermath of child abuse psychologically programs innocent children to perceive the world as evil and inhabitable. Life becomes insipid, and presents no meaning, as the victims languish in intimidation and perpetual fear. Cribs of child abuse have been the breeding grounds of monsters.

Coming down to Africa and Nigeria in particular, the prevalence of child abuse is spreading as fast as a bacterial infection. If one can harness the power of imaginations and actually transform into a powerful housefly and then visit numerous Nigerian homes, it would be heartbreaking to discover that children are being maltreated in diverse manners that evoke anger and pity. All in the name of housemaid service, naive young girls and boys who were brought to the city from rural communities are being intimidated and molested by mature men and women who assumed the paramount position of being their guardian and provider. To these children, their guardians are the only God they see and would voluntarily worship.

Some children are being sent to the streets to hawk, instead of being sent to school to learn. During the day and night, they walk about hopelessly both under the sun and rain. In the process, the child is predisposed to several vicious predators in human stature, and this includes the bloodthirsty kidnappers and ritualists. Some are even sold into slavery, and when they got to foreign lands, they experience the harshest conditions of life and are forced to look up to the sky with tears in their eyes and then question God with their palms facing the clouds.

Certain parents and guardians have broken the camel’s back by meting out punishments of inhumane nature to children. A certain lady was once caught applying fresh pepper to the eyes, nose, and genitals of her six-year-old house girl, and when her actions were questioned, she audaciously said; “I warned her and she woke up ten minutes past five’ O clock instead of exactly five’ O clock.”

In the end, these victims of child abuse often suffer from severe psychological insults and then they often decide to mingle and befriend several deviants of the society who would lure them into immorality by promising them evil in the guise of a bright future. Victims of severe child abuse hardly understand that all that glitters are not gold, thus when deceived, they easily metamorphose into monsters due to the deadly impacts of abuse in their delicate lives; and whereby they join the bad eggs of the society, they would work against the peaceful interest of the society, in a bid to reiterate for the evil they had experienced.

Health-wise, the impact of abuse in the lives of children is as deadly as the widely acclaimed suicide agent called “Sniper.” The child in due course experience health challenges which begins from physical injury resulting from e.g., rape (sexual abuse), to psychological injury which presents mostly with depression e.g., any girl who gets pregnant from sexual abuse will be saddened, then to disease exposure e.g., venereal disease contraction in the case of rape victims, and finally the expression of various post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) coupled with bipolar disorder possibility and psychiatry and psychological problems.

Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) is a serious condition that develops after a person has witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm or threatening occurred. Victims of PTSD, which includes children may present with reactions such as shock, addictions, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. All these reactions keep occurring in severe cases, and such children may suffer from delayed development in areas that have to do with learning.

PTSD can as well trigger a mental health condition called bipolar disorder, which refers to a mental illness marked by extreme changes in mood from high (mania) to low (depression) and vice versa, and sometimes maybe mixed.

From a sociological perspective, the devastating effect of child abuse is paramount when it begins to affects the social life of the child. Thus the child becomes a societal nuisance. This is because the child becomes deficient of the normal social acumen required to initiate social interaction, which is based on the principles of behaviourism which supports the notion that “behave is what organisms do.”

Several individuals who experienced continuous sexual abuse in childhood and thought it was just fun, get older and still find it difficult to restrict themselves from promiscuity. This has lead to the emergence of adults who indulge in indecency and gross immorality. the girls become prostitutes and the boys advance in womanizing. Trying to caution them, mostly proves abortive, unless a strong consequence results, which then serves as a life lesson to them.

Since the family as the smallest unit of the society could be corrupted by the cankers of child abuse, it directly infers that the society and the nation at large are being held to ransom by unprecedented human subjugation. And if nothing is done about this, then the populace must be trekking ignorantly on the primitive path of human slavery. Consequently, the craves of man for human civilization and life modernization would hold no water and speak no volumes.

Let’s recall some excerpts from the words of Martin Luther King Jr. (on 28th August 1963)

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal." “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” If we all concur with the words of Martin Luther King Jr, the issue of child abuse can easily be put to rest.

However, several measures must be put in place to nip the ugly menace of child abuse in the bud. Firstly, a sensitization program must be carried out in every stratum of society to enlighten the populace on the karma of child abuse. Secondly, the government must institute stringent laws against child abuse to strengthen the rights of children and safeguard their bright future. Thirdly, the anti-child abuse laws must be enforced ruthlessly by concerned law enforcement agencies instituted by the government to bring culprits to book. Fourthly, both private and government hospitals with assistance from Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) should be well equipped with qualified personnel who can help restore the dignity of mankind when the issue of child abuse unabatedly rears its ugly heads. The religious leaders are not left out on this course as they have a greater role to play in helping the members of the society to remember that God created all human the same, and his creations we must not abuse.

In conclusion, child abuse is of great consequences to the growth of any nation. And the greatest of all evil would only occur when good people sit and watch as evil thrives like a seed sown in fertile lands. Watching evil is consent in silence. Thus every hand must be on deck as the war against child abuse is waged without end.

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The Masters of an Irreversible Time

2020-01-01T18:18:00.000+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor

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“Every second is of infinite value” - Goethe

Without being a Jewish priest or related to one, the gigantic strides of time and its indestructibility is a fact we must all come to terms with. Time is a gift and it is the currency of life; we all are Navigators on an adventurous voyage; while standing as masters of our respective time, we became responsible for spending it, and making it count. Yesterday marked the Exodus of a year, and the Genesis of today gave life to a New Year. The days, months, and years are all the inventions of man, in his quest to calibrate life; to keep track of his past, present, and future activities. However, if a man fails to be time conscious, the Sun and Moon care not if we were still in the primitive, medieval, or modern era. Indeed man was left to design his destiny.

However, if we want to make the best out of what we have, we must learn to cherish the irreversibility of time. TIME is everything. Pathetically, it is what we want most, but often we use it worst. A Chinese adage emphasized, “An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can’t buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.” Time is the greatest luxury, it is priceless. In Christianity, it is solely the gift of God and an equivalent of life.

Any irreversible phenomenon defies any idea or an action that suggests or induces the possibility of bringing into reality the past into the present. Indeed time is like a river, you touch not the same water twice, because the flow you initially touched has passed and cannot be touched again. Time sits like an incorruptible judge, allowing the activities of mankind and co-living organisms. Any man who comes to terms with the evanescence of time tightens his belt. The zeal to sit up is unstoppable and his thirst to focus is unquenchable. In essence, the fragments of time build the tower of life.

We must begin to maximize and live the present (now) to the fullest because it stands as an intermediate between the past and future. What is happening now is due to our choices in the past, and whatever happens in the future is according to our choices now. In the course of life, we would also come to understand that time heals and kills. This is seen when the life-time of a man is rewarded with profits if he learns to invest his time in profitable ventures; otherwise, the times ill-spent would haunt the times yet to be spent and seek to obliterate it.

In our society today, Fear is the hydra-headed monster that has tormented the sanity of many confident minds. It makes people see impossibilities before even attempting. It is time we have an open mind and begin to think of possibilities in the unfamiliar. This is because the fear of the unknown has kept us in constant romance with the unfavourable familiar. Due to the inability to leave the comfort zone, we keep on underutilizing the time required to achieve our respective life purpose. The idea of - better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t know, has narrowed several human minds.

Life is short and any timeless ventures are dangerous. The cords of assumptions should be eviscerated from our minds with surgical knives of convictions. Begin questioning whatever you do not understand, and be a lover of the truth, embracing it with whole satisfaction, and distaste any form of assumptions. Don’t think that procrastination is an encouragement of God; most times it is the demonic influence of demons, hell-bent on ensuring that you have a lot of regrets on the death bed. Begin now because sometimes “Later” become “Never.” Embrace the experiences of life and use them in time and not against time, some people use their experiences against time by committing suicide. Don’t for one repulse give up! Don’t waste time on anger, regrets, worries and grudges; a lot is to be ignored if life must be enjoyed within our limited time on earth.

A lot of people believe that time can be “WASTED,” however; such ideas solely arise from narrowly minded bigots who believe that their understanding and philosophy should just be used as a yardstick to measure the accomplishments of every man on earth. Whoever is imperfect has no business calling the lifetime of another wasted. Time can only be underutilized based on personal assessment. The often truth becomes inevitable when people discover that they had left many stones unturned. There is nothing as wasted time because it does not exist. The time you think could be wasting would be brought to the court of life, where time proves everything. Time will prove that the time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted. You may delay but time will not. Time will always tell, most especially the truth. That is why if you don’t make choices in time, time would make the choices for you.

Time is not money, in as much as you need time to make money. Some people think that after making the whole money, and then they would reverse the hands of time, which is impossible. The quest for money is great but do not be found wanting in other activities of life, a balance brings about stability. Money can be replaced but time cannot be replaced, this is because time is not an invention of man. If you are poor, time is all you got to get back on track, and no man can take it from you. You need God in your quest for money, According to Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.” NKJV.

Finally, do not forget to spend time with the right people. They are the only people more precious than time. Thus, you must be mindful the people you allot your time to. Don’t get sidetracked by people, who are not on track, do not allow enemies of godliness to lure you into ungodliness and disrupt the essence of your life-time. For the want of time, I would conclude by stating that, as masters of time, we must embrace the conceptual knowledge about the irreversibility of time, and then use it in a way that benefits the well being of all mankind.

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The Shenanigans of December

2019-11-30T10:37:00.001+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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The enmity between good and evil has a deep historical origin, so encompassing and overwhelming that no encyclopaedia can wholly contain. Inevitably, as this war perpetuates, mankind has always been at the receiving end as he always turns out to be the tool of action. Just then it becomes obvious that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers most. The thriving of evil amongst men during the ember months, which has lead brothers to fight each other, is all fuelled by lust, pride, and anger. The earlier we become alert, the better because if an arrow has not entered deeply, the removal is not hard.

Some began small in January and had evidence of accomplishment in December. However, disappointments arise when people begin big, having all it takes in January, but then end small as December elapses. Such an ugly scenario has been a recurring decimal repeating itself in our society today. Making matters worse, many have been brainwashed to abandon morals during the December period, and walk with the shenanigans (dishonest activities) that bring nothing but troubles to the house of men. They are induced to forget that patience is the key which solves all problems.

In our society today, the end of august and the beginning of the ember months which ends with the festival days of December brings with it a lot of changes that cut across every single aspect of human life. This period of the year is often embraced by the dry weather in Nigeria and has been believed by many to be a season of harvest. Therefore, whoever is found wanting, is said to have wasted the early eight months of the year; with such mentality many people become impatient in what they do, the consequence of impatience can be pictured as drivers endanger the lives of their passengers by over speeding, leading to the occurrence of preventable accidents.

Nobody wants to bear the stigma of poverty and thus there suddenly arises the need to create a “do or die” atmosphere. At first everywhere appeared extremely busy, a laudable improvement, but then suddenly, the initially motivating atmosphere often turns out to be seared by barbaric activities and hijacked by banditry. And in the end many who perpetrated such evil do not make it to the New Year, once caught. The question of interest now becomes; should the ending of the year be the end of life? Or, a breath of fresh air, as we remember the birth of Christ as Christians, and restrategize for the New Year after a deep sober reflection about the past months of the year?

Psychologically, many are traumatized during the December period as they worry about what to eat and wear because they expect visitors who would surely be welcomed merrily. Some worry about cars and other luxuries, while others bring home the disastrous impression of pride, trying to subjugate their poor relatives at home as second class humans. The height of psychological injury during the ember months is quite on the rise and a troubled mind is a lethal bomb.

However, no matter how things become, to maintain psychological integrity, we must understand that the pursuit of even the best things ought to be calm and peaceful. The media especially the broadcasting and publishing media, plays a huge role in conditioning the mind of the society. It is pragmatic that what people read, watch, and hear often they mostly talk about. Thus if the media can project programs and information that helps to advise people during the ember months, that would be a laudable contribution to the betterment of humanity and posterity.

Socially, the December period has been tagged the month of socialization. As most persons feel it is a time to be more open, take everything as fun, and meet people from all walks of life to heighten the level of excitements. Thus, there is an urgent need to buy the latest wears in town and appear as affluent as possible, because the way you appear is the way you would be addressed. Most marital rites occur during this period as many men of the soil who travelled to foreign lands troop in with flashy acquisitions, just like the white men came during the colonial periods with mirrors and we were mesmerized the moment we saw our face for the first time.

Our ladies may not be willing to miss Mr Opportunity who rarely comes around, the saying “opportunity comes but once” suddenly becomes their favourite song. However, meeting people is not a problem as every human is expected to keep friendship in constant repair. The problem only lies in being able to make true friends, who would not complicate one’s life. Hence proper investigations are needed, whether in a fast or slow manner. So many have been carried away by wild excitement and they failed to see the content of the container, and just after the festive period, they discover that they have created new problems for themselves by yoking themselves to wolves in sheep clothing.

Economically, the presence of saboteurs can be felt. They aim to elicit economic sabotage that would lead to the rise in prices of goods, which would be controlled at their own will. The downturn in the Nigerian economy began in the past with the importing of foreign goods and selling them at cheap rates. With time, the mind of the people got turned away as they failed to support or think about locally made products, but was encouraged and manipulated psychologically, by the saboteurs to only prefer foreign products as local products were termed “fake.”

After years of dumping of foreign products in the land, most people do not believe that“original” matchsticks can even be produced in their country. Currently, in Nigeria, during the December periods, the price of foreign products are skyrocketed and controlled by the saboteurs. The consumers would only complain but still end up buying these foreign goods that might even be inferior to locally made goods; this because even the local industries have low products in the market environment and are doomed to shut down due to low patronage.

To checkmate the messy economy, the Nigerian government decided to close the land borders to allow local producers to thrive. And suddenly, people began to realize that the locally produced rice is far more nutritious than imported foreign rice. Pathetically, the integrity of the measures enacted to protect the economy has also been undermined by acts of dishonesty amongst government officials, and this rings a bell of warning, the desire to call to order the morality of mankind.

Spirituality has been said to control the physical. In the field of spirituality, checkmating the level of morality is paramount, as people learn how to draw a thick line against indiscipline. In December, the onus lies on the true priests of God to remind the people that the reason for the festive period which was tagged Christmas was to remember and celebrate the birth of Christ as characterized by the doctrines of Christianity. The birth of Christ signifies the liberation of mankind from the shackles of sin, to reassure man of the unconditional love of God, and to remind him that God knows about his worries.

In summary, the festive month of December is not the season to allow self to be psychologically insulted due to lust over luxuries, to become socially pervasive and befriend evil in order to boost pride and ego, or to join the economic saboteurs in anger and harden the lives of the poor so as to make quick money, for they all are the shenanigans of December and must be avoided at all cost.

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The Necessary Adversary

2019-11-12T11:18:00.001+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor

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"Adversity introduces a man to himself" – Albert Einstein

Life is beautiful, and yet it isn't a bed of roses. It's been said by famous philosophers that whoever desires to make life a bed of roses should be ready to water the thorns for the sake of the rose. From this pragmatic statement, one can draw a lucid conclusion that the beautiful things of life are cladded with challenges, and only the determined survive. But then did the determined fall from the heavens? A question we must ponder about in sobriety.

Most times, life appears mostly lukewarm, neither extremely hot nor cold, and one is subconsciously forced to believe that dwelling in perpetual comfort, without any atom of change is an attribute of a life well-lived. Life persists on earth today because nature operates thermostatically, fine-tuning the affairs of the living. Thus, the law of moderation applies so that both the great and small would survive. But then, when something extraordinary wants to happen, the law of moderation (thermostatics) must be broken.

At this point, complaints arise as life situations have moved to extreme positions and life has become unbearable. But in a nutshell, what just occurred was "Change," which is an indispensable attribute of life. During the 2015 Nigerian general election, the Nigerians were obsessed with the idea of "Change," they needed it so badly that they succeeded in voting out the incumbent president; the change was indeed a historical one, and its winds are still blowing heavily on Nigerians till this day.

The constancy of change and the role of change in spicing–up life has been the mantra sang in all spheres of human endeavour, but how the change could occur is an unpredictable nightmare dreaded by all. Just like a man with cancer desires chemotherapy, the adverse effect of chemotherapy e.g., hair loss, is an undesired change he would never wish his enemy. Thus, he must learn to accept the undesired limitations of change, because it must occur if a positive result is to be anticipated. In the same vein, Nigerians must learn to be patient with the change they clamoured for. They should not be too surprised, because a new king means a new law.

A better understanding would save us from the shackles of confusion, and expose us to the land of freedom if we can draw meaning from the essence of the seasonal changes within a year. At some point within the tropical world, the climatic condition becomes strictly rainy or dry. In the western world we observe the interplay of the four seasons – winter, spring, summer, and autumn; and the varying changes they bring into the environment. As the weather changes, the plants change, and the animals change their behaviour to suit the weather. All these changes help indirectly to enhance the longevity of the living.

Briefly allow self to dwell in a state of calmness, and then imagine a situation whereby it rains throughout the year without stopping. Such extreme climatic conditions would bring about the accelerated extermination of mankind and other living creatures by a flood. The biblical story of Noah and the ark would testify the insidious implications of such extreme life conditions. However, if such an ugly catastrophe is to unleash its might in the world today, you would be surprised to discover the unprecedented ingenuity of man as he alights with the speed of a thunderbolt, seeking extreme solutions, for such extreme conditions.

Laughable as it may sound, but humans may even decide to move over to another planet, possibly Mars. A thought that appears impossible in the eyes of Noah now sounds very possible in the ears of our generation. This supports the fact that man has evolved beyond expectation by embracing and questioning the challenges of life, and finally accepting change as a true component of life.

The sense in the ability of man to have evolved under stringent and unbearable situations was observed by Charles Darwin, and thus he was inspired to present "Darwinism" – the biological theory of evolution. The crux of this theory focuses on the elimination of inferior species gradually over time, through a process called natural selection. However, the bone of contention in this context is not actually dancing around the quest to eliminate the weak by the action of forces, but it seeks to analyze the beneficial results of a sudden undesired change created by both the natural forces (E.g., gravitational, nuclear, electromagnetism) and the unnatural forces (this has to deal with the result of the attitude of one to another as every action begets a reaction. (E.g., dishonesty results in mistrust.).

However, apart from environmental changes as implicated above in the quest to clarify a point. A close inspection of the ecosystem would be the yeast to raise the flour that would energize our mentality for greater understanding. The ecosystem portrays the interconnectedness of several organisms (amongst themselves) and with the environment. The ecosystem operates to support the perpetual existence of life and if disrupted by extreme forces, an unexpected change arises.

Birds eat the worms and insects, the faeces of the birds serve as manure to enhance plants growth. Later, the flowers and leaves of the plants still serve as the breeding niche for the worms and insects, and also as the foundation for the nests of birds. If one looks closely, one would appreciate the cyclicity of life within the ecosystem of which man is a great participant, although exempted from this example. In the same vein, one may also be forced to name the birds as the enemy of the worms and insects. But then are the birds truly an enemy? Or were they indirectly working for the man who still enjoys the fruits of the plants that thrives on the manure gotten from the bird's faeces?

At this juncture, the jungle is wild enough for us to engage in an inquisitive hunting spree, to understand the true meaning and implications of the "Necessary Adversary" ideology. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, an Adversary is that one who contends with you. The adversary contends with you because they feel you are defeatable, fatigable and helpless. Just like the birds attack the helpless worms. But the necessity or benefit of an adversary is a hard nut that most men find impossible to crack because they do not desire challenges that break the law of moderation (thermostatics). Thus nothing extraordinary happens because the processes required for something extraordinary to occur is not a desirable one, as it appears tedious and impossible. Thus, men give up and say in slangs "I can't come and kill myself."

But rules are meant to be broken, and a champion is that one who defies all odds. The champion is the fittest, but he (she) didn't fall from the heavens. Rather he was the man who understood the role of the adversary. During his days of training as a novice, while he was climbing the perilous mountains, his adversaries stood grounds and swore to bring him down. The adversary appeared like a bird, hovering around him, questioning his actions and laughing at his slightest mistakes, they sought to eat him like a worm. They presented gifts of distraction to him and even gave him tempting advice, but he rejected their dangerous gifts and placed his eyes on the rewards of his dreams. From the depth of the valleys, he could feel the exhilaration of victory. Thus, he was very confident.

As he was sweating profusely and advancing to the peak of the mountain, the adversaries came to him forcefully, and subjected him to pain; the adversaries were initially acting from a distance but when time was running out, they became very aggressive and decided that it was time they took his destiny by force or risk letting him become what he was destined to be. They denied him his rights and threw a web of frustration and confusion around him; he was attacked directly by his enemies and was backstabbed by his friends. At this moment, he was gasping for courage because his lungs were weak and infected with fears. But still, the depth of his convictions was as deep as the oceans.

But something already was happened when everyone thought his chapter was closed. This man was already stretched to limits, and this meant that he had seen the good, bad, and ugly. He has had a fair share of evil, and nothing of evil moves him again, he has metamorphosed and was no longer the novice of mockery, and now he has a lion's heart. The footsteps of the enemy no longer sounded terrific as he was already accustomed to it. Thus, he kept struggling, hoping and believing that someday; the end of evil shall come. But then, just like a dirty gem seeking to be polished, the results of the frictions and trials in his life were only pushing him towards perfection. Thus, if he did eventually defeat his adversaries, he would remain a changed man for the rest of his life.

Finally, the adversaries were defeated when they failed in stopping the man of courage. And just like Albert Einstein said; "adversity introduces a man to himself." He was now fully aware of the powers bestowed on him. He discovered that what distinguishes a man are not just his beliefs, but also his actions in adversity. And thus he never remained the same as before, because he had arrived at the peak and the basket of his blessings was before him. And in the presence of his adversaries, he carried his basket and lifted it to the sky, and immediately, his adversaries left in shame.

After a long time, he sat to reflect about his life in the past and all that happened to him; and then he came to appreciate why the adversary was necessary. He then called his children when they came of age and said to them;

"I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run towards it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your foot. Adversity causes some men to breakdown, while others break records."

"Be strong my children for no situation has been orchestrated to be permanent, always look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. And always seek beauty in every ugliness."

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Our Focus Our Future

2019-11-03T08:27:00.000+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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In Greek Mythology, three blind old witches were sisters. Their names were Dino, Enyo, and Pephredo. They shared one eye. They were wise and can only be wiser if they put the round eye in their respective ocular orbit. Without the eye, they cannot focus any fact nor say anything about the future.

Indeed, the relationship between the eyes, focus, and the future are inseparable. They stay together like the three blind old witches and bring imaginations to reality. Naturally, if you lose your eye, you lose the ability to focus things visually, and what you cannot see you hardly imagine and comprehend, thus leading to a bleak future.

Failure to hit the bull’s eye is never the fault of the target but the error of the targeters. According to Alejandro Jodorowsky, it is only when the bull’s eye is as large as an elephant in your mind that you would shot and not miss. We all stand as warriors who engage in archery, because we have various aims and life ambitions, and we keep hunting until we die.

The need to focus is indispensable in our daily life because without it we wouldn’t know in which direction to channel our arrows of strength. Focus derives energy from the innermost core of human desires, which is located within the soul and strictly under the influence of the human mind and brain.

Naturally, when you focus on something, the law of attraction comes into play. Its effect is seen because what we focus on tends to multiply. Whatever multiplies in our lives tend to have a great tendency (about 95% probability) to control our future. The remaining 5% has been left out because no level of human focus achieves 100% perfection in a world of uncertainties.

The enemies of focus are the enemies of the future. In life, you are bound to see the hydra-headed monster that seeks the destruction of man by appearing in the forms of trials, temptations, distractions, illnesses, persecutions etc. They bear different names but their primary target is to shift our arrows of strength and make us forget that we were born to win. Pathetically, we aim too low and dwell in mediocrity. Instead of aiming too high and being confident enough to win.

According to Les Brown, most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but they aim too low and hit. The reality of a distracted focus could be likened to a canker ravaging the macula of the human retina. Making him lose the ability to accommodate the details of his vision. Then in the end, without divine intervention, the ambitious man is left with a blurry image of the fabulous world.

In the quest to achieve focus and live the life of our dreams, we must acknowledge that even though we are all allotted the same amount of time every day, it does not infer that we all have the same sort of focus. This embraces the fact that the achievements of everyone will surely differ depending on individual levels of focus.

Some can focus and hit their aim in a year and another would hit in ten years. However, the similarities amongst focused individuals are that they stand tall and firm against the obstacles in their ways and keep aiming and firing their arrows relentlessly. Till the bull’s eye takes the last shot.

Interestingly, we have advanced to the apex of human evolution and have come to complete realization that we cannot achieve focus totally by self-engineered bio-mechanisms (human strength); for though we walk in flesh, we do not war against the flesh alone but also against principalities and powers. We now believe that an external factor must be sought to achieve an optimum focus that would translate into future prosperity.

Truly, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty in God who pulls down the strongholds of the enemies. Stories have been told of men who rose and aimed too high but crashed like an aircraft. Humans, being inquisitive in nature, asked questions and they were honestly told, “some of those men believed they had no need for God and claimed atheism, while some ventured into diabolism (occultism) where their original God-given ability to focus was taken away and they were instead given the fake devil’s alternative in the disguise of sudden wealth. And soon they crashed, and their wealth vaporized in the thin air.” This tragedy happened because they forgot that one with God is the majority.

In wisdom, humans saw that the seeking of God was the wisest thing to do. And after they had done their best, they left the rest for God who humbly perfects the imperfections of man’s ability to focus. And in the end, man enjoys a bright future without blemish.

Finally, I assure you that the enemies of focus must come. They would come to make a fool out of you. When you become a fool, the enemies would rejoice. This can be seen in our society because everyone wants a fool but nobody wants him for a son. But prove them wrong, and place your focus in the hand of God, and as you work, God perfects your imperfections.

Surely, a day shall come when the whole essence of your focus shall make sense and it would glare like the glorious sun, unhidden and untouchable, and it would shine upon you and your generations to come. Remain focus for it is your future.

Shalom.

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The Distracted Youths of Today

2019-10-05T17:31:00.001+01:00

Written by: Muoka Chibuzor G

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"As I write, I do not intend to appear as an angel on white apparel devoid of dents and human desires; nor do I intend to present self as a perfectionist swaggering down the lanes of arrogance. For every day as I walked down the streets in sheer innocence, I could hear the soft inviting calls of Delilah. But God alone has strength me not to answer." - Muoka C.G.

Interestingly, so many things have been left rather unsaid; and these things have arisen like the dreaded armies of the dead to haunt the defenceless youths of this generation. The unspeakable truth was swept under the carpet of ignorance, and a problem hidden, is a problem in incubation; awaiting explosion just like a time bomb.

The day it roars and rears its ugly head; with a stern look on its face, and with flames of fire within the orbits of its eyes. Then that is Armageddon. To run to safety, and protect one's self from the bloodthirsty grips of its sharp canine, might be a futile task after an ugly bite.

Concentration is the uterus of great achievements, for nothing can ever be achieved in the midst of distraction; just as two waterfalls do not hear each other. Nothing good and stable comes from confusion and distraction.

In this 21st century, the era of rapid advancement in every facet of human endeavour. It has come to limelight, being as obvious as the unconcealable protruding belly of a pregnant woman; that a lot of challenging opportunities have been presented to the distracted youths of today. And to whom much is given, much is expected.

Pathetically, many of the youths are overwhelmed by the vast arrays of opportunities. Not that they can't handle these things, but as distractions and confusion troops in, they begin to take unnecessary things serious and the serious issues are relegated and seen as archaic (old school). The route to greatness is then left to suffer the restrictions of procrastination before being able to regain relevance with the intervention of God.

In truth, most of the elder statesmen and women who are cherished and emulated by the youths of today, have often come out of their cribs of comfort to state categorically that indeed the situations of things today were quite different from the way it was in the '60s and '70s. They acknowledged the fact that the world has embraced an astronomical height of advancement within a few decades.

When they sit and watch, they feel challenged and threatened as their weapons of strength are being faced out and new ideas and innovation takes over. Although they are elated by the positive growths, they were also depressed by the negative consequences that accompanied the emergence of the computer age.

In those good old days, there were little or no social media and so people never envied another as there was no room for the expression of fake lifestyles. The internet was a toddler, and the library was a well respected old man.

Marriage was cherished, and indecency/immorality was a taboo. The government was excessively willing to educate the youths abroad, and obtaining a scholarship was as easy as spelling N.I.G.E.R.I.A. Profane music and movies were prohibited, and the economy was as strong as a lion.

Fraud and corruption was not the order of the day as citizens willingly ran to the priests to confess their mistaken intention to commit a crime. The government was for the people and the people were for the government. In fact, the emergence of a utopian society was almost a reality, and God was busy smiling in heaven.

These men and women of great repute, who now occupy various prestigious offices in our nation today were also very honest to state that possibly, if all the distractions we have today was present in their good old days, probably, most of them may not have become what they are today. Some of them would have fallen into the cold arms of distraction.

The timid war against social media addiction and the skyrocketing of moral decadence amongst the youths were enough to swallow the weaklings of this generation. Thus, the great men and women of repute sought to restore both the good old days and the dignity of mankind.

They believed that preaching the gospel could free the captives of the mighty, but their reactive steps were likened to dredging the river Niger with a plastic spoon. As the cankerworms of corruption have eaten deep into the DNA of the youths.

In the midst of all the distractions, the room for concentration collapsed, and the youth could not sit and think clearly. The fights of the youth for a bright future was already sabotaged and hijacked, and life appeared hazy and meaningless. They asked questions about how the men and women of great repute stood tall in the rain, they were told that they worked hard. But they felt it was a herculean task. "We want the fast and speedy tracks," they screamed in fear.

On the way through the fast and speedy tracks, the youth was attacked by the fierce sharp sands of the desert windstorm, which blinded his eyes and destroyed his vision; and then his compass of direction and map of the mission was lost. He became a dangerous youth and walked through the path of perdition, heading straight to hades the realms of the dead.

The youth became stranded and was forced to bend and dance in no direction like the fruitless trees of the windy desert. And as he danced in weakness, children gathered to laugh and mock him. It then appears as if all hope was lost. His father and mother looked at him and tears of shame came forth, and then immediately the clouds darkened.

The youths were tossed in any direction like the coins of the greedy gambler. The youths became the fancy toy of the naughty politicians and were made to appear like a featherless and naked chicken that was removed of all its feathers and left naked in the cold by the owner. And still, when the owner brings the bad corns, it shamelessly runs to pick up the corns in agony.

Failure is encountered and some youth give up and commit suicide. Some become so hard-hearted and embrace all sorts of destructive ideologies. They believed in all sorts of foreign gods and bragged with vanity. They become insatiable for evil, and their end was often horrible. This is because naturally, whatever a man seeks for, he finds. If a man seeks for evil, the evil he would surely find.

The youth is expected to embrace a certain level of mindset (attitude) to be able to overcome the predations of the hungry lions of this generation. Why commit suicide? When our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

According to Nelson Mandela, "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

The extremes of youthful stupidity are caused by the fact that most of the youths live to impress their peers, they live under imaginative pressure, always thinking about what their peers think of them, whilst forgetting to think of loving themselves.

According to Wayne Dyer, "Most people seek happiness outside themselves, and that is a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something you are, and it comes from the way you think."

The youth forgot that the people who matter (your family and loved ones) do not mind if you fail and the people who mind (the peers) if you fail, do not actually matter. While the peers cajole you, your family pray and encourage you.

The youth forgot that life doesn't require faultlessness or being the best in every competition, even though it expects us to always give our best in all situations. Since every human is interdependent and none is independent, thus if all hands can be on deck, the problems of life are half solved; and is totally solved if we involve God.

Life is strictly unpredictable and thus no condition is ever permanent. The stages of life are unstoppable, and ageing is a strict example. The youth must realize that youthfulness is just but awhile, and then it vanishes like a fart in the wind. The thrust into old age is a nightmare to those who bastardized the essence of youthfulness.

The alchemists of the old did everything to create an elixir of life that would be anti-ageing when taken, but yet it was impossible to stop old age. Thus this explains that in life what is meant to be must be, provided we do the needful and accept things we cannot change. We would not be taken unawares.

Although life may appear partial as some are born with a silver spoon, while others are born in abject poverty. This creates a difference in social status. However, anyone's status can change at any time, and anyone can be anything, provided the needed amount of energy is channelled into the purpose being pursued.

Some want to be great, but they end up writing a prayer request and dropping it in the church prayer request box. Then they go home and sleep. And when God looks at such people, He gives them more sleep. This may sound hilarious but that's the consequences of prayer without work.

The youth must be confident, he must be wary of the choices he makes. He must know when to speak and when to be quiet, when to appear and when to disappear. He must be extremely sensitive and not drunk; so as to know when the people around him make choices that affect him negatively. The choices of his life are the stories of his life.

According to Archbishop Duncan Williams, on his message to the youths, he stated that "Delilah was anything that causes you to compromise your assignment, its anything that makes you feel high to the point where you give up your knowledge of God, you give up the reason for your being, your purity, sanctification, and dwell in pitiable compromise."

"You sacrifice your dreams, you let it go and you don't care what happens to the reason for your being, and you don't care about the people for which God lifted you and raised you. Delilah can be nicotine, cocaine, sex, robbery, pornography, masturbation etc." All these things distract the youths of today.

Delilah is the hallmark of distraction. Placing your head on her laps just like Sampson did, is just like willingly jumping into a bottomless pit. (Just imagine that.) Most youths are yet to understand that they weren't born for themselves; they were born as a Messiah for their people. They are on an assignment and are born to be selfless and not selfish. The lack of concentration amongst the youths of today can be attributed to the vast expertise of the Delilah in the society of today.

The secret of your strength is what makes you unique. The day you lose it, you become just not only like the aimless madmen of the streets, but you also would be a disgrace to God and ancestors. The secret to success is concentration. And to be able to achieve that, one must be able to stand firm against the distractions of today.

As a youth, if you are able to stand up and defeat the distractions and Delilah of today, where people see stumbling blocks, you would see a stepping stone.

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