The auction of grey matter is open

Matters concerning

Let me see, we have a situation where a contractual engagement is up for renewal and that is a good thing for the prospect was incumbency put the principals ahead of the game, or that is the sweet talk that had presaged the circumstance.

On review, an extension was granted to allow for the formalities of the renewal be engaged from first principles as the whole assignment is now out to tender. The bland assurances that went before has now pitted the incumbents against 4 other rivals who might be bidding at different rates with a redefinition of the roles involved.

Markets in churn

Invariably, the agency now has to calibrate their bid competitively with a sweetener to keep the incumbents interested having dealt them a rather bad hand. The encumbrance is unnecessary, and the terms are hardly as favourable as obtains at present. Having only 3 weeks to go with this new development, the marketplace might be a better option than to continue in drudgery.

Marketing literature updated, profiles refined, and old contacts visited for possibilities. There is a pretence that the incumbents are being done a favour. Nothing could be further from the stark reality, that suitors are plenty and options abound, it is a chooser’s bazaar, bring your bids and get to use our brains. Miffed does not begin to convey displeasure, just push against an open door.

I do my hair toss in the gym

Terms of wordy abuse

With the progressive easing of the lockdown restrictions, gyms are not open subject to regulatory requirements of social distancing and strict cleaning protocols. My village leisure centre that serves occupants of 5 apartment blocks became a venue of interest.

The lockdown has focused minds towards a kind of fitness regimen to lose the weight acquired over 18 weeks of sequestration with the dearth of engaging physical activity. The management company of our village fired off an email seeking interest from the village and on responding we received a 55-point Terms of Use & Disclaimer document that we had to sign before having our gym entry cards activated and getting a link to the booking system.

Definitely maybe

That in itself was a mental and agitated workout because what could have easily been digitally signed with evidence of the duration of viewing the document was sent as PDF file, in 2020. I could not let that pass without intimating them of a better way of doing things.

The leisure centre consists of a gym, a swimming pool, a games room, a steam room and a sauna. The last two are not currently open and the games room will not provide snooker or darts. The equipment in the gym is marked out for spacing, some taped off rather than being moved out. There are no weights, lots of sanitising stations and cleaning materials for post-usage cleaning.

We are allotted 50 minutes per session for one of the leisure centre facilities per day and I spent my 50 minutes in the gym, doing a brisk walk on the treadmill before attempting some floor exercises. I think it is a good thing, it might get my mind off my weight too. We’ll see. Whilst Lizzo helps me look good as hell.

[]

Editorial: The Single Term Imbroglio

The invitation

I was invited last week to contribute to the Experts Weekly section of the Think Africa Press online magazine on the topic - Goodluck Jonathan has proposed limiting Nigerian presidents to one, probably six year term in office to avoid pre and post poll violence. How do you interpret this proposal and what are your thoughts on it?

My contribution with that of 5 other experts was published yesterday here.

I reproduce my views here fleshing out some of the more concise opinions I proffered earlier.

Synonyms of one another

I have read the statement released by the Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity) as a Facebook Note and I am disappointed by the reasons proffered for the tenure extension.

There are two elements to this idea, one of the Single Term Tenure and the other of having that single term run for probably 6 years. In some ways, the Single Term Tenure could also be referred to as Tenure Extension depending on those who have legal opportunity to take advantage of the change if such persons are currently in their first term of office and no law bars them from seeking a second term.

Poor reasons for purpose

As we have seen in the presidential system of the Unites States, a President effectively has 2 to 3 years of effective government before their energies are directed to seeking a second term; it means the re-election process can distract focus on core responsibilities of governance.

The Facebook statement seems to suggest acrimony, unrest, squabbles and cost as the patriotic drivers for this bill.

This idea might have been allowed some acquiescence if the president had suggested he had embarked on some long-term projects to do with issues really affecting Nigerians as power, infrastructure, transport, health, education, development, economy or jobs that he wanted to see through to some conclusion but we have no evidence of such.

No confidence of the impetus

In the last 12 years, presidents and governors have had single or double terms of government without necessarily changing their domains noticeably for the better; there has been much politicking, wrangling, discord and unrest with incessant threats of carpet-crossing and apart from the case of two or three states, gubernatorial tenures have been abject failures.

The Presidency has fared no better, for almost a year in the last term, the country was held to ransom because of the failing health of the president and the cabal that constituted his so-called kitchen cabinet were a faceless set of unaccountable puppet-masters until the situation became untenable.

On that note, there can be no confidence in the idea that a tenure extension will suddenly be the catalyst for good government - as one writer on this matter has suggested, bad government will be bad government no matter the years spent in power with people losing the opportunity to be rid such rotten government earlier.

A short single term

Chile has a much more developed democracy, economy and society, they voted to reduce their presidential terms of office to a single term of four years without the automatic option for re-election. If any President were to want another opportunity to serve, such a person would have to succeed their successor or successors.

In the Nigeria we have today, I would rather we had presidents and governors for a single term of a maximum of 4 years and if such leaders are able, competent and visionary enough, they will have in place projects that are completed or near completion, ideas others can follow through to completion and succession plans that would ensure their legacies.

Misplaced priorities

What makes this whole idea unfortunate for all the electoral reform ideas that can be tabled and the priorities any right-thinking leader should have is that this is the first major bill from the president in a Nigeria that is in need of more progressive governance, it is ultimately a complete let-down.

There is no doubt that this will be a distraction and diversion from our concentrating on the things that matter, the legislative process will probably be suborned with corrupt inducements to spare the president any embarrassment and it shows that despite surrounding himself with so many advisers none including the president have really caught on what the real issues affecting Nigeria and Nigerians are.

Pick yourself up for this job

It is as Machiavellian and unconscionably a plan to divide every opposition forum within and outside the country and I dare say, this displays contrary to this statement the most unpatriotic zeal every expressed by a Nigerian leader in a long time; the protestations of the change not being to his advantage are moot; this is just not the kind of debate that Nigeria needs today.

Mr. President, I am disappointed in you and frankly, far from impressed – to whom much is bestowed a lot more is desired, it is time to rise to the responsibility of office and avoid letting your tenure of leadership which runs to 2015 be hijacked in endless jangling on unnecessary distractions pretending to altruistic purpose when there is serious work to be done.

Facebook: From figleaf privacy to fully dressed discretion

More Facebook about-face

Many of my friends and readers of my blogs would have read a number of postings about my experiences with Facebook.

There is no doubt that Facebook serves some purpose, I now have connections that date back to primary school about 40 years ago, a good number of secondary school friends are back in my social circle and I am also in contact with close and distant relations along with different acquaintances from all walks of my life.

In that way, Facebook provides a rich social networking experience, the problem arises when having put in all the information that creates the conditions for making, renewing or reestablishing connections you find that you have minimal control over who get access to that information.

Your privates are exposed

Facebook is a sponge for every detail of your life and everything you inadvertently put in can become global knowledge beyond your relations and friends to potential employers, detractors or worse.

Facebook itself is not known to have exemplary ethical conduct in the management of the privacy of its patrons, the company is in flux trying to determine who all this information from over 400 million accounts can be commercialised and monetarised without us having a say over what get push to us by our details or as a result of our relationship.

AllFacebook.com recently posted an article on how the default privacy settings had changed on Facebook between 2005 and April 2010 – I winced at how exposed I had become, it was like an involuntary strip-tease as you clothes were ripped off till I was left with the postscript of a tweet I posted – You only have a fig-leaf for your privates.

The animation of that graphics were originally published by Matt McKeon with the title - The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook – He includes information on how the data was sampled and the comments that follow do help one understand what might be at stake.

Rapidly evolving rules

What is driving the quest for more privacy and sometimes the exodus from Facebook is that the Terms of Service and rules are changing rapidly in favour of the company just exposing more and more of our information in the name of helping more social interaction – nothing could be further from the truth about that.

Personally, I have been actively locking down areas of information that I have put on Facebook just because I do not have much control over where all that information might end up.

Now, for those who are not as technically savvy or understanding of the finer details of privacy, secrecy and confidentiality – if you may know, these words are not synonyms, they mean completely different things, but you have to secure your privacy, manage your secrecy and definitely do not trust strangers with information you feel should be confidential – the underlying question being who can you trust with detail about what you like, what you do and what you’ll rather not share.

How to …

Jason Perlow, a writer for ZDNet; a technical magazine offers some advice in a video which can be very helpful in Lock Down Your FaceBook Profile in 20 Minutes (Video) – some of his suggestions take it to the extreme with the assumption that only friends that already know you are your default contacts, but you need to leave in enough information to distinguish you in some way to old friends like schools and other basic historical information.

You need something to network with but be smart about what you leave in, what you take out and in a more granular setting create lists of most trusted friends and give them more access whilst closing access to others.

Let us use Facebook for what we have intended for it to help us do, link up with friends and family and thwart attempt by the behemoth to convert our precious relationships into filthy lucre.

One piece of advices you should take away from this is to check your profile every month to see that it is still as watertight as you want it to be as Facebook shape-shifts around your privacy. Use Facebook but do not let it use you unethically and unfairly.

Sources

[1] INFOGRAPHIC: The History Of Facebook’s Default Privacy Settings

[2] The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook

[3] Lock Down Your FaceBook Profile in 20 Minutes (Video) | ZDNet