₦airaland Forum

You don't really need to bother with any of this math prep work. A basic high school (secondary school) knowledge of math is enough.

Knowledge of the exponential function, log function, n choose k, factorial function, knowing how to work with sums and series should be sufficient.

Isn't as if there is any esoteric number theory or whatever in a basic study of algorithms. Yes later down the line you may need it. But that time isn't now. . .

^-- Surely banks should be able to decide what they want to do with their money to make profit, right?

No one should have a problem with where the private sector decides to invest its money in Nigeria.

I laughed when I read Bafarawa say something to the effect of, "I, Buhari and Atiku wanted to join ACN to make it a national party. . . "

Where does the guy go grouping himself with those two, who can at least bring something to the table (either money or political machinery, or both)?

This is not the loss of an asset, but the loss of a liability.

Is it as if your deadbeat unemployed buddy from college who has been squatting on your couch and feeding fat from your fridge threatens to leave. If someone like that leaves, you breath a sigh of relief.

This really isn't that complicated.

If Benue ACN candidate wins Benue State and then decides to decamp, wahala dey.

But Bafarawa and co? Good riddance.

A guy who has delivered absolutely nothing for his party. Isn't bringing in any money, no states, isn't popular like Buhari.

He is just another burden you have to carry along.

Yet rather than said burden feeling bad and promising to shape up and deliver results, he throws a tantrum.

Absolutely pathetic.

In other parts of the world, political failures like Bafarawa are consigned to the dustbin.

Yet in Nigeria, a failure like him unfortunately is still able to make noise.

Where is the accountability for the money these Bafarawas and co want released?

What tangible results has the past money they ate resulted in?

In Benue and Kwara, we can at least see results. What has Bafarawa done?

As I said earlier on the previous thread, good riddance to bad rubbish.

Dude brings absolutely nothing to the table.

Nigeria Devalues Naira, Holds Interest Rate To Spur Growth

Bloomberg

November 22, 2011, 4:26 AM EST

By Maram Mazen and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
(Updates with fuel subsidy in eighth paragraph.)

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the first time this year and devalued the naira and to help support growth in Africa’s biggest oil producer.

The midpoint of the naira target band was lowered to 155 per dollar from 150, Governor Lamido Sanusi told reporters in the capital, Abuja, yesterday. The benchmark interest rate was left at a record 12 percent.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had raised its key rate at every meeting this year until yesterday, boosting it by 2.75 percentage points on Oct. 10 as inflation pressures mounted. Slower economic growth in Africa’s most populous nation and concern that oil prices may decline as the global recovery wanes gives Sanusi room to keep borrowing costs on hold.

“Monetary tightening was ahead of the curve and had been somewhat front loaded,” Adedayo Idowu, an analyst at Vetiva Capital Management Ltd. in Lagos, said in an e-mail. The bank is “exercising deliberate caution in providing a soft landing for the domestic economy should global risks materialize.”

Nigeria’s economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the third quarter from 7.7 percent in the previous three months as oil output eased, the statistics office said on Nov. 15. The price of oil plunged 13 percent in New York in the first nine months of the year.

‘Too Much’ Tightening

“We need to be very careful about how much tightening is too much and how much tightening is too fast,” Sanusi said.

Interest rates have been increased this year as inflation climbed above the central bank’s 10 percent target. Consumer prices rose 10.5 percent in October, up from 10.3 percent in the previous month, according to the statistics office.

Price pressures may increase next year as Nigeria prepares to remove a subsidy on fuel that costs the government $7.5 billion a year. The central bank will act to contain any “second-round” impact on inflation from the price shock, Sanusi said.

“It is clear from the Central Bank of Nigeria statement that monetary policy will remain tight in the interim,” Razia Khan, head of Africa economic research at Standard Chartered Plc in London, said in an e-mail. This is the case “especially if fuel price subsidies are lifted and a secondary effect is evident.”

The central bank, which manages the exchange rate by selling foreign currency at twice-weekly auctions, has been struggling to keep the naira at its official target of 3 points above or below 150 per dollar. The rate at yesterday’s auction weakened to 155.21 naira per dollar. The naira fell 0.3 percent to 159.325 per dollar on the interbank market as of 9:16 a.m. in Lagos today.

“The market is already there, we haven’t moved away from where the market is,” Sanusi said. “The investor wants to know how the naira is likely to move within the investment horizon, and what we’re trying to do is to provide the right anchor for expectations.”

--Editors: Nasreen Seria, Ana Monteiro

To contact the reporters on this story: Maram Mazen in Abuja at mmazen@bloomberg.net; Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-21/nigeria-devalues-currency-holds-interest-rate-to-support-growth.html

hmm

Just a bunch of political featherweights, LovePeddlers and non-entities. As long as the Benue and Kwara ACN don't follow them, it is all good.

Let them wander in the wilderness. After all, what are these guys bringing to the table anyways? Zilch

Aint bringing in any money, haven't won any elections, aren't relevant in their own states. So what does it matter if they stay or go?

Wise decision.

homerac7:
@ dapo_bear

I disagree wt u there, do u know dt d only deep sea port is in lagos? Dt alone accounts for over 40% of economic activities there.

What do you mean by this? 40% of the GDP of Lagos is port related? I highly doubt that. Anywhere where did you read that?

You have to keep in mind that most of that port duty money goes to the FG anyways, not to Lagos State.

But yeah, where did you see it?

PointB:
@Ekt bear, good question. In reality most company wait for another stream of corpers so that they can continue to enjoy that quality work for far less the price. A few are however retained. Banning them from bank and private firms will force such firms to fill the vacancy permanently.

Of my dad's employees, almost all of them are youth corpers who did a good job and who he wanted to retain.

Then again, maybe you are right. But to me this seems like when western companies give people summer internships. It is a low-cost way to evaluate someone and figure if you'd like to hire them permanently.

If you do your youth service with a company, isn't there a good chance they'll hire you full time once you finish?

If so, why ban this? Hmm

Stanbic Ibtc Partners Lags On Lekki-epe Int’l Airport

on NOVEMBER 22, 2011

By AMAKA ABAYOMI

Stanbic IBTC Bank has been appointed sole financial adviser to the Lagos State government on the proposed Lekki-Epe International Airport project to be developed on a modular basis at an estimated project cost of N71.64bn ($450 million) in its first phase.

Situated about 10km from Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), the proposed airport will boost economic activities at the LFTZ scheduled to begin full operations in 2012. It will also drive urban development and tourism in the Lekki-Epe axis of Lagos State.

A scalable airport that will be designed to cater for the Airbus A380, making it a Code F compliant airport, the Lekki-Epe International Airport is expected to commence operations with a conservative capacity of two million passengers per annum, reaching five million passengers by 2015.

Commenting on the airport project, Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Sola David-Borha, said the project reinforces the bank’s long standing partnership with the Lagos State Government in the area of infrastructure development, which is informed by the knowledge that infrastructure is the foundation on which socio-economic development is built.

“We are proud to partner with Lagos State Government on the Lekki-Epe International Airport project.

“Our involvement is yet another testament to our commitment to infrastructure development in Lagos State, which is founded on our deep belief in Nigeria and our confidence in its massive developmental potential.”

As part of the competitive tender process for the construction of the Lekki-Epe International Airport, Stanbic IBTC Bank has made available Request for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ) to 33 Nigerian and international firms who have indicated interest to participate in the ambitious project.

The companies had earlier submitted Expression of Interest (EOI) in August 2011, bidding for the project under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The RFPQ provides the bidding companies with guidelines for the submission of a Statement of Qualification (SOQ) which highlights their technical, operational and financial capability to design, finance, build and operate the Lekki-Epe International Airport, before its transfer to Lagos State Government at the expiration of the concession period.

NAHCO Aviance, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Arab Contractors Nigeria Limited and Cappa D’Alberto Plc, are among the 20 Nigerian companies that have been provided with the Request for Pre-Qualification.

They will compete against 13 international firms that includes Munich Airport Germany, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Limited and Canadian Commercial Corporation, among others, for the development of the first phase of airport project.

Stanbic IBTC Bank is a member of Standard Bank Group, a leading African banking group focused on building first-class on-the-ground banks in chosen countries in Africa and connecting other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other.

It has a footprint which now spans 17 countries across the African continent, including South Africa, and 13 countries outside Africa, including China and Brazil, which are key to its cross border strategy and success.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/stanbic-ibtc-partners-lags-on-lekki-epe-int%E2%80%99l-airport/

Kudos to her

Horus:
The best solution to solve this problem is decentralizing growth to other Nigerian states.

There is no real way to do this, unless those other states start growing  rapidly too.

Also, i'm not necessarily sure that this is a "problem." Well, there are challenges, but also opportunities. Not only for Lagos, but for its neighbors. . .

[quote author=Kilode?! link=topic=807882.msg9605901#msg9605901 date=1321929910]Are we still waiting for Boko haram to condemn almajiri before we take this opportunity to save those young kids?

It's time to put politics aside and act for the[b] sake of those children.[/b][/quote]"Think of the children, dammit!"




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo

Interesting inked_nerd.

Areosapien:
Actually, it's $33bn

54 according to Fitch: http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFWLA807620111028

How on earth did this become another ACN thread?

So the northern traditional leaders and most southerners are against the almajiri system, but the reason it will remain is because of the ACN?

lmao

hercules07:
Apparently nothing the guy does is good in you people's eyes, the man has stabilized the Naira, yet, you guys are crying.

Sounds like bad news to me:
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/naira-tops-agenda-as-mpc-meets-monday/103306/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-21/naira-weakens-first-day-in-3-on-bets-central-bank-may-lower-peg.html

Pukkah:
Who is funding the projects?

The Jigawa governor secured loans from the Nigerian federal government on behalf of the civil servants (there is some federal housing loan organization whose name I cannot recall right now.)

Perhaps Abia intends to do something similar?

In any case, I think this has potential if the governor truly has good intentions.

There is something about losing a war that can emasculate you entirely.

Consider Hausa history. Can you imagine that nowhere in Hausaland is a major ruler of Hausa ethnic stock? That they are all Fulani?

Can you imagine having been so utterly defeated in such a way by a tiny minority?

Imagine how that would destroy your psyche, your pride in yourself and people.

So in Nigeria, Hausa worships Fulani, and both worship Arab.

(apologies for the derail, but I find this stuff interesting.)

He is a very confused man

Yagba:
There is a fervent craze for imitation of Arab culture in the core northern states, including their penchant for violence. Violence in Islam is more of an Arab culture than religion. Sadly, the origin of Islam is Arab. May their search for peace include the forfeiture of violence. Amen.

Not just northern nigeria, unfortunately.

There is an implicit, unstated ethnic hierarchy in Islam, with Arabs at the top.

As a result, I've noticed that certain insecure non-Arab Muslims end up being fanatics. An attempt to prove their worth, I suppose?

But Persians and Turks (both of whom have had great successes and a great history prior to/independent of Islam) tend to be less fanatical and obsessed, in my experience. Lebanese too.

Persian in particular are ridiculously proud of their pre-Islamic culture, and still celebrate some pre-Islamic, pagan festivals (Persian new year being a good example.)

Contrast this with the Hausa, who seem to be ashamed of their pre-Islamic identity and seem to prefer to associate with anything Arab. Fulani are less ashamed of themselves I suppose, but also cling to Arab. Sudanese and Somali the same.

Anyway this is just a bunch of arm-chair sociology (but based on my personal interactions and conversations with people from these groups), so take it with a heavy grain of salt.

Maximip:
That approach will get stuck when it sees a new name.

No, it does not. Building the database is only the first step, and isn't even really the hardest (at least conceptually.)

The point is to use your database of labeled words to  build a classifier than can classify unseen words. That was the point of the following:
[quote author=ekt_bear link=topic=806379.msg9598628#msg9598628 date=1321843154]Then you could probably come up with some pretty effective simple techniques that work well to classify words that aren't in your database.[/quote]Basically when you do approach 3, there are usually three steps;
1) Build a labeled database of words.
2) turn words into features (so some function that maps words to say vectors. A simple one is just a histogram of letter frequencies. Of course there are tons and tons of stuff you can do.)
3) use some classification algorithm to build a classifier (e.g., stock techniques like nearest neighbors or naive bayes)

The output of step 3 produces something that can classify any word. Of course, there are some issues in step 2 in finding good features. So you could try a few things and see how well they work.

This same sh1t again?

It has been hashed out time and time again.

ndu_chucks clearly has a nefarious agenda.

Haha no joke.

Unsupervised learning is really, really hard.

This is why if it were it were me I'd try approach #3 first.

But that has always been the case. Men have always been superficial

Thinking about it further, I guess maybe it isn't as hard as I'm making it seem.

You could try approach #3. . .you could just take digitized language-specific media (dictionaries, newspapers in target languages), and use this to create a pretty huge database.

At that point classification might be fairly easy, I'm guessing.

So basically you have this huge corpus of documents, you know which language source you got it from. You label words by the source (e.g., Yoruba, Edo, etc). Words that appear in multiple sources, I guess you do some simple rule to classify it (Tunde might appear in Igbo language media and Yoruba language media. But presumably it will appear more frequently in the latter than the former. So correct to classify it as a Yoruba word.)

This will give you a huge database of words already labelled. Then you could probably come up with some pretty effective simple techniques that work well to classify words that aren't in your database.

And of course, if a word already exists in your database, then you'll be able to classify it. For example, if your corpus of Igbo language documents has the word "Emeka" in it, then you've probably classified this word previously as Igbo. So easy if someone asks you to classify it again (since you already have a label for this word.)

women so superficial these days

oh well

lmao

Good call on that

I don't think this is an easy problem, sounds like a legitimate research problem.

If someone provides you with a database of already labeled words, (e.g., Emeka=>SE, Bayo=>SW, etc), and the database is fairly large you can probably use some statistical classification techniques to get decent results (on classifying unlabeled words that you must categorize.)

But if you don't have labeled data, then it becomes hard. You have to generate the labels yourself. Which I guess would involve either:
1) Hiring someone to generate the labels for you
2) Try to figure out the labels yourself by extracting useful features and doing some sort of clustering. The hope is that the features you extract create a large amount of space between words from different categories. Perhaps intonation is a useful feature for separating words, as Beaf suggests.

But yeah, by no means trivial or something already in a textbook somewhere.