The reality is that a second wave of the deadly virus is upon us and since a lot of people are coming into Nigeria from abroad , we are unsure if the new strain of the virus, as reported by the UK government , is already active in the country . All we know is that the daily number of reported cases is rising consistently. 

The government should realise that a sizeable number of the populace think or assume COVID -19 is a scam – alleging that it is a sneaky ploy cooked up by certain privileged group of people to siphon public funds. How do you think these same people would regard COVID -19 directives ?

I believe that it would have been a smarter move to ensure that citizens have no reason to gather. This will prevent them from converging out of panic , desperation , and the fear that their already impoverished life will be further degraded by the time their lines get cut off . In addition , that course of action would have given those sceptical about the virus no reason to smirk and say , “ we don talk am” .

Rural dwellers will be grossly affected

I struggle to access quality Internet service each time I travel outside the city of Lagos . During a recent visit to Aba , a city in the eastern part of Nigeria , I struggled tremendously to join a zoom call without video. Sad indeed!

If that was the case, the question is how would NIMC cater to individuals particularly the elderly and those incapacitated who would certainly find it difficult to get their NIN especially in the rural areas?

Nigerians in the diaspora

The Nigerian economy as we know is being sustained largely on inflows from our countrymen and women living in various parts of the world . Can you imagine the pathetic state the country ’ s economy would be in without the $ 24 bn that it receives as annual remittance inflow?

Can NIMC and members of the National Task Force on National Identification Number and SIM registration assure Nigerians living abroad that NIN can be effectively done at all our various embassies? From their action and / or inaction , are they implying that the welfare of those who are also holding this country together means nothing ?

These questions are largely rhetorical because the various tales of Nigerians looking to renew their international passports are nothing but a sorry one . Apart from those who are well -connected, getting a new Nigerian passport is indeed a tough experience . I wonder if getting a NIN abroad won ’ t be more difficult than the proverbial ‘ rich guy passing through the eye of a needle. ’

NIN integration would not improve security

Anyone who thinks that in this day of end -to- end encryption, integrating NIN to SIM would improve security drastically should have a re -think . We live in an era where apps and platforms are beginning to pride themselves about being able to implement various levels of encryption, making it more difficult for any unserious government to begin to fathom what is going on in its very own cyberspace.

This reason among others is why I have repeatedly called for increased funding of the IT industry particularly , cybersecurity sector is because that criminal you think would make a call with a regular GSM phone now has , at his disposal , secret apps that might make him untraceable . Hence, the desperation to get this done hoping that it would drastically improve security does not hold water for me .

If this government wants to see security improve, provide jobs and opportunities for 50 per cent of the over 30 million unemployed or underemployed youths in the country and see what difference that would make .

Let me state clearly, I am all for the policy because it has a lot of benefits , however, the idea of getting it done in less than two months is completely impractical and would only lead to more pains and increased poverty for those who cannot settle to get express service .

The gentleman referred to as the Oracle of Nigeria’ s IT industry , Dr Chris Uwaje , sent the following recommendations in response to my last week ’s piece;

1 . Government should develop a mobile app for all smartphone owners to register online without biometrics and picture capture. This type A registration would be allocated a provisional ID number that expires in three to six months . This option one will expire after three to six months .

2 . Within the designated time frame of six months , all registered mobile phone subscribers would be scheduled through an online appointment system for biometrics ( finger and facial capture) based on location .

3 . Options one and two would be run on parallel servers and synchronised for proper authentication . New registrants would be mandated to register online and capture physically on appointment . Data cleansing follows for reliable authentication .

About 24 months would be a realistic timeline to accomplish the task — including staffing and staff training — industry monitoring.

What else can anyone in government be looking for? These recommendations are super realistic and I am in complete sync with them .

In another news , NIMC debunked the news flying around that the data of 37 million Nigerians is for sale on the dark web . Frankly , I am not certain of NIMC ’ s security architecture and to be honest, this hasty implementation would occasion all types of data breaches. So, interesting days ahead !

Once again, I call on the government to rethink this decision and go for a phased -implementation of this laudable initiative.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance to all our readers and Nigerians .

At the age of 19, John Stith Pemberton earned his medical degree in 1850. His main interest was chemistry. He practiced surgery and medicine for a few years, but later, he decided to open his own drug store. During the American Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army.

In April 1865, he was attacked by a saber sword and had a wound in his chest. To ease his pain, he started consuming morphine. Slowly, he became addicted to the painkiller. Looking for an addiction cure, John experimented with multiple syrups and medicines.

He used coca and coca wines, eventually creating a recipe that contained extracts of kola nut and damiana, called “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.” Later, he prepared a non-alcoholic version of this drink. During an experiment, he added carbonated water to the base syrup by mistake.

John decided to sell this as a fountain drink rather than medicine. He sold this drink as a “valuable brain tonic” that cures headaches, relieves exhaustion, and calms nerves. However, after introducing Coca-Cola to the market, he soon became ill. He sold his share in the company to the other business partners.

*Lysol was advertised as a female hygiene product from the 1920s to 1950s. At that time, it was a euphemism for contraceptives. Not only did it fail to prevent pregnancy, but it also led to poisoning and deaths. By 1911, doctors had recorded 193 Lysol poisonings and five deaths from uterine irrigation.

In the first half of the 20th century, women believed that douching can help with birth control. Douching is washing the inside of the vagina with water or other mixtures of fluids. The Comstock Act of 1873 classified contraception as obscene and illicit, and thus, ordered that douching products could not be advertised as birth control.

Therefore, Lysol introduced its product as a female hygiene product. However, its main purpose was to act as a contraceptive. It was an antiseptic soap that contained cresol, a phenol compound. However, the product failed to prevent pregnancy.

By 1911, doctors registered 193 cases of Lysol poisoning and five deaths from uterine irrigation. Lysol continued to market its product as safe for women. The company finally realized that its product was not suitable for women and replaced the cresol with ortho-hydroxy-d

iphenyl in the formula. It pushed Lysol for cleaning toilet bowls and treating ringworm.

*British scientists experimented with sildenafil citrate, now called Viagra, in 1989. It was tested among patients, mainly for high blood pressure and chest pain. Soon after, scientists noted another interesting effect of Viagra. The medicine worked well for erectile dysfunction.

Pfizer’s scientists synthesized sildenafil citrate in a research facility in England in 1989. It was mainly studied for use in medical conditions like high blood pressure and angina pectoris, a type of chest pain. The first clinical trials were conducted at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

These trials were conducted under the supervision of Ian Osterloh, a British clinical researcher. According to Ian, the results of phase one clinical trials clearly highlighted that sildenafil citrate had little effect on angina. Interestingly, during the experiments, it induced penile erections in the subjects.

Therefore, Pfizer decided to launch sildenafil citrate as a cure for erectile dysfunction rather than for high blood pressure and angina pectoris. The drug was patented in 1996 and was approved for use in erectile dysfunction by the FDA on 27 March 1998. It became the first oral treatment approved to treat erectile dysfunction in the United States.

*Alexander Graham Bell invented a metal detector in 1881. It was an attempt to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of US President James Garfield.

At the end of the 19th century, various scientists tried to invent a metal detector, mainly for the benefit of miners. However, all those early inventions used a lot of battery power and had other limitations. Parisian inventor Gustave Trouvé developed a hand-held device for locating and extracting metal objects.

The US President James Garfield was struck by two gunshots in 1881. Physicians failed to find the bullets in his body. To ease his pain, the president consumed morphine. In such a case of emergency, Alexander Graham Bell devised an instrument to detect metal bullets in the body.

His device was based on Trouve’s model. Unfortunately, the device did not detect any bullet in the president’s body. However, it worked on others. He reinvented the instrument and went back again to test it on the president.

This time also it did not work. After Garfield’s death in September, he successfully demonstrated his instrument to other doctors. Surgeons adopted it, and it was later used during the Boer War and World War I.

*Robert Chesebrough, the inventor of Vaseline, was a firm believer in its medicinal properties. He stabbed and burned himself to prove its efficacy. He even admitted eating a spoonful of Vaseline every day. However, it was later proved that Vaseline has no curative power.

Robert Chesebrough, the inventor of Vaseline, visited an oil field in 1859. In the oil field, he learned of rod wax, a residue removed from pumps. The workers were using it to heal cuts. Robert became interested and started experimenting with it. He refined the product over a decade and finally launched it in the market as “wonder jelly.

Pharmacists did not show much interest in his product. Therefore, Robert marketed the product by indulging in roadshows. He would burn himself with acid or stab himself in front of people. Afterward, he put on his product and showed people his previous healed injuries. When he suffered from pleurisy, he ordered his servants to cover him from head to toe with his wonder jelly.

He soon recovered. Before his death, he admitted that he had been eating a spoonful of this product every single day for years. This product was later labeled as “Vaseline.” On further experimentation, it was proved that Vaseline had no curative properties. It only keeps bacteria away.

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