PositiveNaija, Author at PositiveNaija

PositiveNaija Monthly Newsletter August 2017

PDF download: PositiveNaija Newsletter August 2017

*It is important to mention that most achievements by Nigeria/Nigerians achieved abroad should not be relegated as being ‘superior’ or achieved out of a ‘privileged comfortable environment’ as most of these achievements are usually first in recognition of what has been done or attained within Nigeria and as such requiring an international/global export.

Recommendations:

Nigerians should be more observant towards the progress, development and excellence made in/by the country and fellow citizens.
The right conditions for the vivid manifestations of these achievements and subsequent potentials are needed.
Existing implementation frameworks should be critically reviewed with an indigenous approach.
Strategic planning and an effective monitoring system with a focus on sustainability.
Better coordination among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)

We hope that you find these assessments useful, inspiring and educative. We will also be glad to hear from you!

Nigerian Athletes Emerge Supreme At The African Masters Athletics Championships [2017]

16 Nigerian athletes have emerged overall winner at the 2017 African Masters Athletics Championships in Cote d’Ivoire by winning 31 gold and eight silver medals.

The championships was held from August 25-27, 2017.

Safiya Yahaya-Kongoila, who represented the country for the first time, won four gold medals for the country.

Cote d’Ivoire emerged second, winning 15 gold, nine silver and four bronze medals, followed by Tunisia with five gold medals.

Countries that featured at the event were Algeria, Barbados, Egypt, Burundi, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Germany, Mauritius, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Gabon.

In the 2016 edition of the championships, Nigeria came second winning 30 gold, six silver, and three bronze medals.

The next edition of the African Masters Athletics Championships is scheduled for December 8-9, 2018, in Tunis, Tunisia.

Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for veteran athletes in the track and field events, road running and cross country running.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Receives University of Edinburgh’s Honorary Doctorate [2017]

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been honoured with a Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

The award was presented to her at the university’s St Cecilia’s Hall, which happens to be Scotland’s oldest concert hall, by the university’s Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea,

“in recognition of Ms Adichie’s achievements as an author and public intellectual.”

In appreciation of the honour, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said:

“It is lovely to be in this place, which is hallowed. I feel very fortunate to be included among the people who have been honoured with a degree from this University”.

Odunayo Adekuoroye Triumphs At 2017 World Wrestling Championships

Odunayo Adekuoroye, has won a silver medal at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France, making it the first time Nigeria is on the medals table.

Odunayo Adekuoroye is now the first woman from Nigeria to march into the gold medal final at Senior World Wrestling Championships.

She narrowly lost to Haruna Okuno of Japan 4-5 in the final of the 55 kg women’s freestyle.

The Nigerian wrestler started her campaign in the Championship by defeating Mathilde Helene 13-9 in the qualification round to move to the Round of 16.

She then proved to be too much for Lenka Martinakova as she defeated the Czech Republic wrestler 10-0.

In her quarter-final match, the three-time African champion out-powered Mongolia’s Davaachimeg Erkhembayar 8-4 before going ahead to defeat U-23 European Champion, Irina Kurachkina of Belarus 10-0 in the semi-final.

Oshi Agabi Unveils Koniku Kore [2017]

Oshi Agabi has unveiled a computer based modem-sized device – dubbed Koniku Kore capable of recognising the smell of explosives and could be used to replace traditional airport security.

The prototype of the device unveiled at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania is an amalgam of living neurons and silicon, with olfactory capabilities — basically sensors that can detect and recognise smells.

According to Mr. Oshi Agabi:

“You can give the neurons instructions about what to do – in our case we tell it to provide a receptor that can detect explosives.”

He envisages a future where such devices can be discreetly used at various points in airports, eliminating the need for queues to get through airport security.

As well as being used for bomb detection, the device could be used to detect illness by sensing markers of a disease in the air molecules that a patient gives off.

Koniku Kore he believes has partially solved one of the biggest challenges of harnessing biological systems – keeping the neurons alive.

While computers are better than humans at complex mathematical equations, there are many cognitive functions where the brain is much better: training a computer to recognise smells would require colossal amounts of computational power and energy, for example.

Mr. Oshi Agabi is attempting to reverse-engineer biology, which already accomplishes this function with a fraction of the power it would take a silicon-based processor.

According to him: “Biology is technology. Bio is tech. Our deep learning networks are all copying the brain.”

He launched his start-up Koniku over a year ago, has raised $1 million (£800,000) in funding and claims it is already making profits of $10 million in deals with the security industry.

Advances in neuroscience, bioengineering and computer science means that much more is known about how the human brain works than ever before.

This is fuelling the development of neuro-technology – devices that aim to mould the brain into computers.

Much of the current work is aimed at improving brain function, particularly for those with brain-related injuries or diseases.

D’Tigress Emerge 2017 FIBA Afrobasket Champions

The Nigeria Senior Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress, have been crowned African champions following their 65-48 win over Senegal in the final of the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket Championships.

Trailing by six points from the first quarter, the Nigerians fought back to win the second quarter 21-10 points.

D’Tigress remained sturdy as they extended their lead by winning the third quarter 15-7 points and the fourth quarter 17-13 points.

Point guard, Osaretin Ekhator, emerged top performer for Nigeria with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Following the victory of the Coach Sam Vincent-tutored team, Nigeria also qualified for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Spain next year.

D’Tigress, last won the biennial championship in 2003.

Margaret Binga Is First Female Nigeria Taekwondo Federation President [2017]

Margaret Binga has been sworn in as the President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF).

Margaret Binga is the second ever Female President of a Sports Federation and the first ever Female President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation.

The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung on Wednesday also inaugurated the board of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation with a charge to revive its federation’s grassroots development initiative.

Binga is Nigeria’s only two-time African Taekwondo Champion and a World Taekwondo Federation Class 2 International Referee.

Nationally, she was undefeated for 18 years and won 45 National Gold Medals in that period.