₦airaland Forum

Nollywood Day at the Wennovation Hub: Powering Nollywood using Technology

In a bid to highlight the interconnectivity of Wennovation Hub’s (www.wennovationhub.com) recent content distribution technology and mobile application initiatives with top content creators in Nollywood and to achieve synergy with key actors, we are pleased to present to you the 1st Nollywood Day at the Wennovation Hub with the theme: Powering Nollywood using Technology (a panel discussion)


Venue: EDC Large Auditorium, Plot C Obasa Road, Off Oba Akran Rd Ikeja Lagos (road beside AP Petrol Station)

Date: Wednesday, November 30 @ 12.00pm


Panelists:


Nse Ikpe Etim, Nollywood Star & Best of Nollywood Awards 2011 Winner (Actress)

Nse Ikpe-Etim has been in the entertainment industry since age 18 when she anchored a show on NTA. Her first movie role was in Venom of justice 2 after which she has acted in various movies including the Nollywood big hit movies, Reloaded and Guilty Pleasures, where she acted as Ramsey Nouah's wife.


Chude Jideonwo, Founder – RedStrat/The Future Project, Y!Naija

A lawyer and award-winning journalist, Chude has, for almost a decade, garnered key experience in all forms of traditional and new media, and has translated that practical experience into successful media campaigns. He also works as an expert in youth development across the country and beyond.


Chude is founder and Creative Director of RedSTRAT/The Future Project, a full service public engagement/communications company. He is primarily in charge of Strategy, Planning, Content and Communication.
Chude also founded EnoughisEnough Nigeria, the largest coalition of youth and youth-led organizations in the country. It is now one of the country’s foremost civic participation groups as well as the premium voice for young people in politics. He chairs the Public Relations & Communications Committee, and has in that position secured buy-in from national and international media including CNN (International), BBC, Radio France, Reuters, the Associated Press, amongst others,
In May 2010, he was selected for the Nigeria Leadership Initiative’s (NLI) Future Leaders Fellowship.

Other panelists include Mukhtar Oyewo and Modupe Ajibola



Program:
• 12:00 – Introduction of Guests & Participants
• 12:20-­‐ Wennovation Overview
• 12:40 – Questions & Answers
• 1:00 -­‐ Panel Discussion: What ongoing technology developments are going to drive Nollywood 
2.0 and how can this be jumpstarted?

• 2:00 – Meet our Wennopreneurs
• 2:30 – Vote of thanks


Mr. Femi Babajide, Marketing Development Manager at Intel Corporation (West Africa), will moderate the event


Send in your questions via twitter to @wennovation using the hashtag #nollytech , or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wennovation-Hub/118472511553217 )

This event will be live on Twitter (#nollytech), Facebook & we will make arrangements to telecast live.

This is the first in a series of sector partnering events for the ecosystem. Feel free to invite a friend.

Contact : Ayokunle Akinrotimi (ideaslab@loftyincltd.biz +234 805 951 7814)





Wennovation Camp 1.0, 1 dream, 2 Companies, 3 Products, 4 Mentors, 5 Consultants, 6 Weeks , 7 Entrepreneurs & 49 days from ideas to funding!

17 Nov 2011

The Verdict according to Olusegun Adeniyi. Email, olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

When I received an invitation to be a guest speaker at the International Relations Students Association (IRSA) dinner at Ife some weeks back, I did not hesitate before accepting. So last week Friday I was at the campus and for the first time since I left in 1989, I spent the night. As it would happen, I arrived early in the day so I had the privilege of being taken round the campus by my former classmate who stayed behind to teach in the department, Dr. Charles Ukeje. We started our tour at the department and the entire Faculty of Administration. From there we went to the Faculty of Law before arriving at the car park behind the Faculty of Social Sciences which used to host the zoo that is no more. I noticed also that the world headquarters of the Palm Wine Drinkards Club is gone. We walked by what used to be the ‘Old Bukateriat’ where in those days we would ask for the tongue of snake, the leg of snail and the thigh of fish whenever we had no money for meat. The Buka is now history. We were at Awo Hall and then my old room at Fajuyi Hall. We passed by Oduduwa Hall (where the work of Lamidi Fakeye still stands tall for all to see) on our way from the Forks and Fingers restaurant to what now remains of the Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library.

In all, what I saw would make anybody who attended Ife in the eighties to weep but I also noticed something which is tragically Nigerian: So many mosques and churches now litter the campus. I do not want anybody to get me wrong as I am also a Christian but is it not curious that the more religious we have become as a nation, the greater the rot in our society? The same is true of the campus. Everywhere you turn, you see iron bars--at the office doors, on the corridors and then at the library. This, I was made to understand, was because there were many break-ins. Evidently the preponderance of churches and mosques has not deterred the activities of student thieves!

I was for most part of the day in a despondent mood but my spirit was lifted at the dinner. The students were still sharp and bright. I was particularly impressed by Miss Joyce Matthias Nkem, a 300 level undergraduate of the department who is also into fashion designing. Not only did she make the beautiful dress she wore at the dinner, she also designed those worn by two other students who proudly identified themselves. Such ingenuity is what Ife has always been known for.

But if the truth must be told, the University which in those days we were all very proud to tout as the most beautiful campus in Africa is a poor shadow of what it was even though it will be 50 next year. The campus surely needs a major facelift in virtually all areas to reclaim the lost glory and shine. In the face of inadequate government support, the university's vast alumni community, at home and abroad, must brace up to rescue it from the rot that is already becoming evident. A number of key areas require urgent attention.

The first is the learning environment. The classrooms have become smaller to accommodate the explosion in student population to the extent that some lectures are now held in odd places such as the sports centre and Oduduwa hall--places that were designed for recreation and entertainment!

The classrooms lack basic facilities that can enhance teaching: poorly made white boards, dilapidated chairs and tables, broken windows, poor air-conditioning systems, lack of modern audio-visual facilities and other teaching aid; epileptic internet connectivity (even though the university claims to be the leading ICT institution in the country).

Although a few new buildings are springing up, a lot more need to be built. Jimoh Ibrahim, I was told, donated the new postgraduate college; another former alumnus took it upon himself to repaint the entire Faculty of Agriculture; Skye Bank rehabilitated some auditorium; First Bank built a new edifice complete with a big auditorium and offices; the Leventis Foundation provided funding to build the impressive natural history museum.

But we must give credit to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola who conceived the university with the foresight to construct time-less structures. 50 years after, those edifices are still solid.

From within, however, there is urgent need for their rehabilitation even when it may not require any fundamental structural work. A good example: toilets have broken down.

Two other areas of urgent need: the university library and the halls of residence.
The main university library, named after its pioneering Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, remains an imposing structure; but only from outside.

The ambience of the reading rooms and interior need a major facelift; the colours, mostly grey and pale white cannot attract enthusiastic readers. It is difficult to spend any length of time in the library- when, each time you have to approach a poorly trained staff to find a book for you because the shelves and books are caged! It is also impossible to spend any length of time because to answer the call of nature, you probably have to tip-toe into a smelly cesspool of water-logged toilets; that is, if they are open. When I visited only one was and I could not imagine entering such place.

Now, even the books have seen the best of times. Although I was told some resources have been committed to buying books they only scratch the surface in terms of what can make the main library the true intellectual temple that it should be.

Everything from chairs, tables, shelves, and of course, old books must go.
We cannot pretend to be engaged in serious scholarship by relying on old editions of books published in the 60s and 70s.
•To be concluded next week.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/arise-o-great-ife-1-/103006/

St Antony’s College, Oxford, in partnership with the international integrated energy company Eni, is offering Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Angolan students at an African university the opportunity of a fully funded scholarship, including fees and living expenses, to undertake postgraduate study at the Master’s level, at the University of Oxford.

St Antony’s College specializes in international relations, politics, economics, history and anthropology. Eni Scholars will be drawn from a pool of applicants holding conditional offers of admission to the following one- or two-year taught Master’s programmes:

•MPhil Development Studies •
MPhil Economics
•MSc African Studies
•MSc Economics for Development
•MPhil Economic & Social History
•MPhil International Relations
•MSc Economics & Social History
•MSc Global Governance & Diplomacy


The central objective of the Eni Scholars Programme is to provide future African leaders with a unique opportunity to pursue world-class postgraduate training at the University of Oxford.

During the selection procedure for the Eni Scholarship, consideration will be given to qualified students who can demonstrate that they do not otherwise have the financial means to continue their studies at Oxford.

Additional consideration will also be given to any student who has clear ambitions to use their accumulated learning to benefit their native country after graduation.

To find out more please visit http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/eni/scholars.html.

To apply, please visit http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/

Applications for entry in 2012-13 are now open and will close on 9 March 2012.

Thanks for the comments. I have been able to get someone.

Just for the records, its not a departmental site,  its a student organization site, so you cannot just 'get' computer science students to develop the site as a form of 'internship'.

Anyone with the skills to help develop a very nice website (pro-bono or for a low fee)

funny!

#9jabooks THe adventures of Souza eventually landed him in Libya, He was last seen after his arrest by the NTC

9jabooks Remember Akin the drummer boy? Now plays for Dbanj!

#9jabooks The Bako family has no car again, their daddy lost his job as they spent too much time travelling across #Nigeria

#9jabooks Mallam Ilia was mistaken for #BabaSuwe and his Passport is now with the NDLEA

#9jabooks Remember Raliat the sugar girl? She now works at Dangote Sugar!

#9jabooks After witnessing the #Salamigate, the Incorruptible Judge has given up on his principles!

Very funny x-rated thread.

Everyday I spend in school here, it reminds me so much of Ife could have been had the original vision been sustained and maintained. OAU is the only school in Nigeria that really provides the all round environment for complete education that a university is meant to be. While it does not have a collegiate system, its hostels have built strong traditions, and you have several families where multiple generations have passed through the same hall of residence.

Its tradition, culture, learning, socials, religion, debate, activism, politics happening at the same time. Just wish there could also be some level of maturity in student dealings.

I don't know why OAU cannot be the center of debate for national issues, inviting people from opposing sides to debate maturely without getting into fights. Just imagine a place where every Tuesday evening in Amphi, there is a mature student debate on topical issues. I strongly believe every University needs to have a debating society by the way!

dayokanu:
^^ Bros Ashiri yin ti tu.

I see where you were determining the fate of millions of Nigerians.

Anyhow Hope it isnt too cold there.

My Chairman, I dey o. I never see your widow's mite o, u know say I be poor student o!

Federal Polytechnic Ilaro- Elect/Elect Engr

Funny thread!

Hello hotangel,

Keep on staying strong. I remember life back in 2005 then. If Steve Jobs was able to achieve so much despite suffering from cancer, we all really have no excuse!

Attending an Oxford talk this afternoon by fellow Nigerian and former OAU-Ife classmate, Dr Wasiu Popoola (a.k.a Popular), talking about "Visible Light Communication"-transmitting data via normal light bulbs. More on his research at http://visiblelightcomm.com/d-light-project-hits-target/
He is also coauthor of this book http://amzn.to/nGG2qs

@DK. Na running around o. Returned to TX on Monday, and I leave again this Monday for 3 months. Gimme a call

dayokanu:
I did not dispute that you went to school with him r he got 7 A1's

The point is that he did not graduate with 4.95.

The OAU school record when he graduated was still less than 4.95

True, Ahmed Shittu was my set. Extremely smart, but Simeon was the best student in the dept (Chemical Engineering) and the University for the year, and even Simeon did not have a 4.95 GPA.

Got this from a friend. Hope it clarifies the discussion.

While I agree the quality education is steadily declining, I dont think the performance of the graduates at the NNPC test could be used as a yardstick. I wrote the NNPC test and it is actually a disappointment.

Two things are responsible for the low performance, and neither is the fault of the applicants.

First of all, the questions were basically jamb questions and nobody was expecting that. The previous test was technical, discipline-based. After spending 5 yrs in a uni, how do u expect engineering and sciences graduates to remember jamb physics, chemistry and biology.

But the second and more important factor was that the test was conducted at various centres throughout the nation and it was decided that all centers must start and stop at the same time. This led to the late commencement in all centers. In my center, people arrived as early as nine but we did not start until to six in the evening. Several centers started even later. To compound it, most centers did not have functioning lightings and for those that had(like my hall), no nepa.

So we had to be using the torchlight or backlight on our phones. In some halls, applicants had to light candles.

Believe it or not, this was general throughout the nation, as I read poeple's comments online after the test. It was a complete mess.

Although I passed the test (chiefly because I teach a jamb class and thus most of the questions were very familiar), but the conduct of the test is very unprofessional. Graduates are either tested based on disciplines or using a gmat-based aptitude test, not o-level subjects. Even those of us that applied for experienced hire wrote the same test. And experienced hire applicants are required to have a minimum of five yrs experience!

Nairalanders and their 'bash-first-class-folks' campaign.

Would like to make a few points here.

Anyone who is disciplined enough to make a first class deserves it. It however does not make them necessarily smarter than a 2.1 or 2.2 guy who could have made a first class, but got derailed due to personal, financial, or a sundry of other issues. But still, I respect everyone who made a first class. I equally know several 2.2 folks who are very sound, and could have made a 1st class given the right conditions.

Being a first-class student does not make you necessarily good at aptitude tests. I know several of my colleagues back at OAU who were very smart (and still are) and technically sound but just did not have the flair for aptitude tests. They have since gone on to make waves in their various disciplines.

For anyone who read through this thread (and all the nonsense spouted by some folks), the NNPC test as not even an aptitude test. They were testing O-level Physics, etc . How do you expect someone (1st class or not) who has been working for several years to still remember the details of Optics and Waves (especially if he/she has been working in a different area, or does not have the time to prepare) and do well in such exam? If 2.2s had been involved, it probably would have been worse.

Lastly, Nigerian companies need to jettison this policy of aptitude tests/ O-level Physics exams for employment, especially for experienced hires. I have never had to write any  aptitude test here in the US for any job. While I understand the need to filter out people for entry level positions, why do you need an aptitude test for an experienced hire? Of what relevance is O-level physics cramming (that people do not even know its application) to a job as Database Manager?

But then, this is Nigeria, where anything is possible!

@Ystranger, in case you have not noticed, I do not trade insults. Hence I have no response to your diatribe. There is no big deal!

To respond to your questions, @Negro_Ntns, innovation is not ONLY about new ideas, its sometimes about improvement in business processes and execution, or the right timing.

That some ideas have failed in Nigeria/Africa before does not mean they can never work, what you do is examine what needs to be done differently or improved upon. Five years ago when there was little to no broadband availability in Africa, some ideas did not make sense, with increased broadband (especially mobile broadband), they may make sense now.

And rather than spout the principles of lean sigma on here, we will prefer to let our results speak for us. I hope to be back here in 18 months to share where we have succeeded, where we have failed, and what lessons have been learned along the way. What we will never do however is give up because some people feel nothing can be done!

Very possible. You need to identify what services are free, and what services can be monetized. Just to give you an example. if the library can be used as an e-learning center for 2 hours each day for university students (and the library is paid from the student's school fees), then it can afford to offer the rest of its services for 'free'. Or you have an instance where the library also doubles as a GRE/GMAT testing center, and those proceeds are used to subsidize the 'free' services.

Its time we got out of the 'everybody is poor in Africa' mentality and things always have to be totally free, its why nothing works! Lets think outside of the box!

kandiikane:
I am a good researcher in various areas.
Does that help?

Taking you up on that. Even though LAA is a non-profit, we intend to make each library sustainable such that it does not continually rely on donors. Kindly research about LAA on our website, and the rest of the web, and come up with fully-fleshed ideas/proposals on how to make the libraries financially sustainable in Nigeria or Ghana. You can email such to me at my first name @ librariesacrossafrica.org

Personal advice- if you are going to leave Nigeria to go abroad for a grad degree, make sure its a school that worth its name, not all these 'gbarogudu' schools in the UK (and there are a lot of them). And all the better if you can get a scholarship, so you are not spending your own money!

Always, depends on what skills you bring to the table, there is always enough work to go around!

Thanks for your comment. Not sure I need any praising, all I ask for is support for our work. Life is too short to look for people's praises.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/features/25115-lack-of-access-to-finance-biggest-problem-of-entrepreneurs


Idris Ayodeji Bello is the Information Management Champion with Chevron Corporation. But outside his official engagement, he is involved in a number of projects targetted at improving the lot of Africans; such as Library Across Africa, Wennovation Hub and AfyaZima Africa. In this interaction with Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the multiple award winner speaks about his life and preoccupation.


IDRIS Bello is passionate about Africa’s development. He wants to do all in his power to ensure that Nigeria and the rest of Africa utilise their potentialities so that the continent will no longer be a wilderness of hunger, diseases, war and ignorance but a well developed continent that provides the best for her citizens.

Bello is of the opinion that a way of reversing the trend of underdevelopment in Africa is through enterprise. He avers, “A new wave of young women and men, armed with a burning resolve, enabled by global networks, and not governments or large multinationals, hold the key to solving Africa's social and economic problems, these are the people I refer to as Afropreneurs. While it is true that these individuals will need the support of government and big organisations, getting Nigeria and Africa out of the ‘recipient’ mentality will depend largely on the success of its Afropreneurs or Naijapreneurs. We need to focus on empowerment and providing an enabling environment, rather than just spoon-feeding people.”

He, however, laments that lack of access to capital is crippling enterprises in the country. He says, “According to a recent survey on VC4Africa, access to finance is one of the biggest challenges faced by young African entrepreneurs. Other challenges include the lack of a conducive and enabling environment to support startups. Getting a business registered in a country like Nigeria can be a very tedious process, and the added problems of navigating bureaucratic bottlenecks, getting legal advice and finding good mentors has precipitated an economic environment which has sent many good ideas from their ‘embryonic stages’ to their untimely ‘economic graves’”.

As his contribution to solving these problems, he teamed up with some people to establish the Wennovation Hub.
Bello says, “The Wennovation Hub is a true hub for start-up business development located in Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria with a focus on synthesizing high impact start-up growth, facilitation and development in West Africa. The hub provides office space, ongoing support, network and contacts, funding and affordable project support for innovative early stage companies in Nigeria and the ECOWAS region. The Wennovation Hub is an initiative of LoftyInc Allied Partner founded by Michael Oluwagbemi and Africa Leadership Forum (ALF). I am the Programme Director for the hub, while Dr Oluwole Odetayo manages the hub on a daily basis.

“Our hope is that the Wennovation Hub (and eventually the Wennovation Village) will provide this enabling environment to help young entrepreneurs overcome these challenges. Through the Wennovation Hub, we recently kick started the LoftyInc Angels Network, which is arguably Nigeria’s first Angel Network to fund the viable business ideas which pass through the Wennovation Hub.”

His concerns about the inadequacy of libraries on the continent resulted in the establishment of Libraries Across Africa with a view to bridging the noticeable gaps.

Speaking on Libraries Across Africa, he says, “Libraries Across Africa (LAA) is a non-profit social venture whose mission is to empower individuals through access to information. Each LAA library uses broadband Internet connectivity to provide relevant content and information resources to underserved communities in Africa.

“An LAA library is a combination of an innovative building system; community tailored books and electronic content, collaborative workspaces, and trained library staff. While the original idea was not mine, it was the outcome of an MSc thesis work by two Architecture students at Rice University, I joined the team to help transform the idea from concept to reality, leveraging my business knowledge in the African environment, and my understanding of the social need we were tackling having spent the first 20 years of my life in Nigeria. We are currently close to implementing our first pilot in Accra, Ghana.”

Talking about AfyaZima, he says, “AfyaZima is an organisation focused on the sustainable delivery of low cost health technologies to the developing world, while also integrating local insight and strategic consulting with a deep understanding of the key drivers that develop and enhance successful health care and bioscience enterprises in Africa. I co-founded this in 2010 with Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, a medical doctor. Our initial efforts are focused on the provision of aggregated point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tools for the early detection and rapid diagnosis of the major infectious diseases affecting the developing world; HIV, TB and Malaria. We are currently working on our flagship product, the “Elpida Diagnostic Toolbox” (EDT) which will equip mobile doctors who visit rural communities to provide care, with an innovative toolbox that combines POC diagnostic tools with pictorial guides that cross language and cultural barriers and empower patients to take ownership of their management plans.”

Bello, explaining his interest in the programmes meant to improve the lot of Africans, says, “In these efforts I am spurred by my strong belief in the superiority of market-based solutions to Africa's problems. I also recognise that the problems of lack of access to education, health and support for enterprise are intertwined, and hence require the development of locally grown, holistic solutions.

On his dress sense, he says, “I like to dress well, and I am usually okay with anything that looks good on me. I am not obsessed about keeping up with fashion though, so you won’t have me longing for the latest designer shoes!”

His most valuable physical possession is his iphone because, “It serves as my phone, diary, social media tool, camera/video, note taker and a whole list of other things. It keeps me on top of all the things I am involved with. But overall, my faith and family are the most important things to me.”

On what he considers the ingredients of success, he says, “I will refer to a quote from famous inventor, R. Buckminster Fuller, while advising one of his students who was seeking what to do with his life. ‘Look around you. Take a fresh, hard, and uncompromising look at life as you see it. Ask this question, What needs to be done? When you have an answer, and it may take some time to get it, then go and do what needs to be done. Do it better than anyone else does it and the world will beat down your door for your help. Then you will not need a good job; and you will have more than a career. You will have a mission.’ Hence, I view the ingredients of success as; vision, tenacity/courage, flexibility/adaptability and faith.

Then he defines success as “using your finest gifts and deepest desires to help you make a profound difference in the world while also retaining a balance in your responsibilities to your family, and building a strong relationship with your Creator.”

Talking about his legacy, Bello says,“ I would like to be remembered for my contribution towards encouraging entrepreneurship and creativity in the developing world as a tool to lessen the dependence of the citizenry on the state, which affects their willingness to criticise government leaders, thereby perpetuating poor governance.”

Since when did WikiPedia become a reference source? While I am not super-pleased with Aganga's performance so far, I like to play fair.

To show you how unreliable WikiPedia is as a source, I will go ahead to make a change to that entry, and add Nairaland in the article.

Thanks for the comments and best wishes. Nairaland has played a huge role in keeping poor folks like us connected with the motherland

Varies by country. In the US, you should not include age or gender or marital status.

Including class of degree or GPA is optional and usually depends on how good your GPA was and your years of experience.