Drone regulations: Home vs Away

Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) recently released drone regulations in May. We understand that it’s not everything that works for the western world that should/would work for us here in Nigeria. But today we’ll be making a side by side comparison of NCAA (Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) rules for commercial drones (small unmanned aircraft).

Kiki series 4

Kiki series is a weekly series. Click for Episode 03

I was a bit hungover in the morning. Last night had been epic. Following the movie premiere for the movie ‘Balance’, we headed for the after party. My date for the night was Toju, the star of the movie. It was all so thrilling, it always is. The voices were louder, smiles were brighter and laughs were happier. We all looked so good and we couldn’t possibly be stressed. And then there was Toju, he was so much fun.

Why you should not be offline

Paying for data in Nigeria can be annoyingly expensive and you most likely won’t get unlimited data. However, I don’t think it’s enough reason to be offline in this day and time, unless we want to go back to the 'stone age'.

Funny adaptation of stone age phone by Lilly Higgins

Three Wheels to Startup

THE THREE WHEELS THAT START UP A BUSINESS

Fact: Not all startups have been successful, not all startups will be successful. In fact, 9 out of 10 startups fail. This is because a person rarely possesses all three qualities required to set a business in motion. Let’s take a look at these three wheels.

Young and getting it

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" -  Bible verse from the book of Timothy

I remember the latter days of my university days as an undergraduate at the University of Lagos. As aspiring engineers, my colleagues and I always dreamt of the best paying jobs which as you would imagine were in the oil business sector. We gossiped about how certain few people landed jobs with the Seven Sister oil companies and we determined in our minds that it was the true definition of being successful. Other considerable jobs were in IT, Telecommunications and Banking. Most of us were naive and didn't have the right mindset of the real world we were about to get into. We knew little or nothing about how the job market works. In my experience with diverse labour markets, especially during times like this where there is a global economic adjustment to climate change and jobs are becoming a lot more competitive, I think I might have some useful inspiration to share with emerging youths. To do this, I would like to touch on 3 mains areas.

Kiki Series 3

Kiki is a weekly series. Click for Episode 02

I woke up at 6am. I had managed to get enough sleep after a couple of sleepless nights.

It had been a long week. Half of the entire staff of Pleasure fm had been laid off. Workload had increased as most of the staff had to work under two different departments. For me, not much had changed except that the work environment had gotten somewhat hostile. The station manager had gotten grumpier, demanding more efficiency from fewer staff. Workers are always under so much pressure. Not the usual work pressure; unhealthy pressure, fear induced pressure, and just like that, work had lost its substance. Just another means to get by.  

I no longer had a safe place.

5 mistakes an entrepreneur should avoid

Growing up with parents who are entrepreneurs and being around so many entrepreneurs, I have been able to weigh and see what makes one tick and the other discouraged. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy task, it requires skills, commitment and making sacrifices. That’s why it’s so important to understand some of the mistakes that affect many entrepreneurs in the labour market and try not to make them.

Father's day

It’s father’s day tomorrow and it’s the one day dedicated to appreciating the incredible men in our lives. It usually falls on the third Sunday in June. However, because men aren’t so complicated, it’s difficult to treat them to a special day. I mean, how can not complicated be so difficult to spoil. I asked a guy what would make his day perfect and his request was simple. It turns out food is really important in a man’s life. I mean on mother’s day, you can get her a perfume or jewelry set etc and she then treats you to a good meal. But fathers ehn… Thank God for mothers (yes, mothers still take the glory on father’s day)

Why you can worry less about the tomato scarcity

A few months back, “Tuta Absoluta”, a serious pest of tomato began to spread and attack tomato farms in 6 of the 36 states of the country. Since the rest of the country pretty much relies on these states for tomatoes, there has been a scarcity. The prices of tomatoes have risen drastically and tomatoes are currently the most expensive fruit in the market. This is the first time Nigeria is affected by this disease and we appear to be unequipped to tackle it. As a matter of fact, we are “working with a team of experts in United Kingdom who will deliver specialized insecticides for the control of the disease”.

No worries though, while we wait for our specialized pest control solution, here is a list of some meals which do not require tomatoes.

The all seeing eye

It is a wonderful world. We can’t have wings but we can have eyes in the sky and that is why we absolutely love drones.

Drone is an informal name for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). A drone is an aircraft which is controlled remotely by a pilot, who is not on board. UAVs became popular during World War I, when unpiloted aircrafts were used to drop bombs on targets. Over the years, drones have been adapted for different uses in agriculture, recreation, entertainment, security and surveillance.

Kiki series 2

Kiki series is a weekly series. Click for Episode 01

02- Turn of Events

It would be a shame to end up on the wrong side of history since history repeats itself over and over again, only in different forms.

I always pride myself for listening to people, people with experience. It’s one of my best qualities. In my first year in University of Lagos, someone told me that the University days are the best years of my life. “Your life just gets more and more out of your control after school. You have to enjoy yourself now” he said and I listened. From that day, I made conscious effort to make the best of my years in school. I found myself getting involved in activities outside of classes, signing up for ushering jobs and the likes. It was good advice, until it wasn’t. In my final year, I had to think intensely about my future. Everyone has to at that point I presume. I was approaching that point where “my life would get more and more out of my control”. I realized he hadn’t advised me on what to do at this point, perhaps he had not figured it out himself. I knew for sure though, that I was not prepared to sound as regretful as he did.

Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2bn

Microsoft and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture and independence. Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Reid Hoffman, chairman of the board, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both fully support this transaction. The transaction is expected to close this calendar year.

Ten steps to becoming a successful entrepreneur

Succeeding as an entrepreneur takes hard work and persistence because, unfortunately, there is no business-startup fairy who magically bestows success on small businesses and their owners.

Most successful entrepreneurs follow comparable patterns and share similar basic characteristics. Hundreds of online articles and published books claim to know the secret of success in business, but for the most part, they boil down to the same major points.

Weekly Report: 5th June 2016 - 11th June 2016

Ramadan(time for Muslims around the world to focus on prayer, fasting, giving to charity, and religious devotion) started on 6th June 2016.

Stephen Keshi former Super Eagles coach died of a heart attack on 8th June 2016.

Shuaibu Amodu, another past coach of the Nigerian football team died, 10th June 2016

President Buhari visits UK for treatment on 6th of June, 2016 and has made a call to Nigerians through his aide to tell he’s in good health.

Actor, Jide Kosoko’s wife passes on Monday, 6th of June

The Presidency, Wednesday, announced a take off in the recruitment of 500,000 unemployed graduates who would benefit from the N500 billion social investment Programme of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led federal government. (For more information, click here)

The Nigerian government wants about 80,000 Nigerians displaced to Cameroon by the Boko Haram insurgency to return. (Read more here)

2 Covenant University graduates drowned in Elegushi beach. (Read more here)

Planning a Fundraising Event

Fundraising events are social events with monetary importance. This is tricky because organizing an event can be somewhat expensive.

Fundraising events take different forms such as organizing a 5km run/walk, a football match, Carwash, auctions and so on. You can even get creative with it. No matter the form of the event, you want it to be a success.

For a successful fundraising event, there must be a plan. Here are 8 steps that could serve as guidelines in planning a successful fundraising event.

Food Friday

It's our first Friday and we would be talking about FOOD!

I'd admit we don't have much to say today but we would be giving tips to consider when preparing your breakfast.

BREAKFAST PREPARATION TIPS:

1. Incorporate wholegrain foods: wholemeal bread, oats and wholegrain cereals. Wholegrain foods can help keep you feeling fuller for longer and studies have shown they may help lower the risk of certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes and stroke

Febrile Seizures

Hi guys!!!, thanks for stopping by again today. So, it’s Thursday! Can’t believe the week has gone so fast. Our Thursdays, we call freestyle Thursdays, it’s where we talk about DIYs, Fashion, Medical findings, any intriguing topic as they come. Unlike other days, we won’t be having a recurring theme per se. Here’s a quick breakdown of our days:

Monday - Making Money (entrepreneurship)

Tuesday - Talking Technology

Wednesday - Weekly Series

Thursday - Freestyle Thursdays

Friday - Food day

Saturday - Events (Parties)

Sunday - Weekly review of things that happened in our nation

Kiki Series

01 The awakening.

I stood motionless at the junction. I had just seen two vehicles collide.

Google Home

It’s Tuesday!, Technology day and today we’re talking about Google Home! Google Home, an Amazon Echo rival, was announced on 18 May 2016 at Google's I/O 2016 keynote event. It's a speaker which lets you have a conversation with the Google Assistant - another new feature announced at the launch.I really wish Google would give its Assistant a pretty name. But oh well, here’s what we know about it so far:

Starting a Business with NGN30k or less

I like to think there are two ways to make money in Nigeria. Work for the government or work for yourself. I grew up thinking entrepreneurs were people who could get a building, set it up and have nice furniture, multiple staff and a beautiful secretary. However, you’d agree with me that not all entrepreneurs are having a blast. You’d find out that they are running on loans or the tax system of the country is killing them. In my opinion, it’s usually the government or the banks that are not helping entrepreneurs thrive. So we settle for earning minimum wage or keep disturbing our uncles/aunties in government parastatals to help us get a bit of the national cake.