Twenty years ago, local resistance arose in the Niger Delta because of the way oil revenue was being shared and how oil pollution was undermining local livelihoods.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
How to Address Youth Violence in The Niger-Delta
What is ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), the chemical that exploded in Beirut?
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| Wael Hamzeh/EPA |
The Lebanese capital Beirut was rocked on Tuesday evening local time by an explosion that has killed at least 78 people and injured thousands more.
Decrypted messages from the Biafran war that have remained secret for 50 years
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Biafran conflict in 1970.
The trigger for the conflict was the proclamation by Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu on 30 May 1967 that Biafra had become a republic. After 30 months of war, Biafra surrendered and was once again incorporated into Nigeria.
According to the author John de St Jorre, between half a million and a million Nigerians died, mainly from starvation, during the war.
Through the efforts of their roving diplomats during the war, Biafra achieved recognition from the states of Tanzania, Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, and Zambia. But the fledgling state struggled to secure wider diplomatic support. It also found it difficult to purchase weapons and smuggle them into its controlled territory via airlift.
The efforts of these diplomats have recently come to light through the decryption of telexes sent from Portugal to Biafra during the war. Telex, short for teleprinter exchange, was a method for transmitting messages electronically over land lines or radio. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, had become the centre for Biafran diplomacy in Europe because the government of Portugal under António de Oliveira Salazar supported Biafra with air landing and communication privileges. Paris and London were also key centres for Biafran diplomats.
In our paper we set out what was in the encrypted messages, and how we solved them. Three of us worked on the project, each with different disciplines – a mathematician, a computer scientist and a radio technologist. We used manual and computerised cryptanalysis methods to decipher a series of transposition ciphers sent by Biafran officials in 1968 and 1969.
It took us three months to figure out how the encryption worked and what keys were used. We also needed to read about the context of the war to understand and interpret the messages. The historical figures were unfamiliar to us and many codewords were used for people, countries and objects.
In the end, the decrypted messages provided a treasure trove of information about how men and women working for the breakaway state in Europe tried to garner support for Biafra from afar during the war.
Decades long decryption project
At the time, the Biafrans sent some of their messages in plain English text and made some extra effort to encrypt some in order to ensure that at least casual eavesdroppers couldn’t read the encrypted ones. However, they made mistakes which meant that professional as well as amateur eavesdroppers could have read them.
We know of at least two professional organisations that did intercept them: the Swedish signals intelligence agency, the FRA, and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Some were also intercepted by at least one amateur radio operator, Frode Weierud, in Oslo, a co-author of our academic paper.
At the end of July 1969 Weierud discovered a signal in the shortwave band transmitting a regular message in radioteletype: “This is Biscaia testing to LDA/3”.
Using teleprinter devices, he was able to intercept a series of messages from the station “Biscaia”. The messages were initially in understandable English, but soon they started arriving in ciphertext, in both five-letter and five-figure groups.
These messages were from a telex link between Biafra and Lisbon. During the war, Biafra had only one telex machine. It was the only communications link to and from the outside world. The machine was moved around Biafra depending on what territory was controlled.
The unencrypted, or “plaintext” messages sent over the link were often intended for wider distribution via Biafra’s public relations firm in Geneva, Markpress. The encrypted messages were between Biafran diplomats in European cities and the leaders of Biafra and were not intended for public distribution.
Although Weierud tried to decipher the messages in 1974 and wrote to a cryptography journal about them in 1978, the messages remained publicly undeciphered until he published them on his website in 2019. A Swedish signals intelligence veteran, Jan-Olof Grahn, also described the content of some messages in a 2019 book.
After Weierud published the messages, I joined him, as did George Lasry, a computer scientist from Israel, to decipher the messages. This was a difficult task as the cipher system was unknown. In fact, we used advanced computer algorithms, and also needed to improve them, to decipher some of the more challenging traffic. We also had to resort to manual methods at some points, writing out the letters on strips of paper and rearranging them by hand to form readable English.
The task took many hours across all the messages. In general, the task for a code breaker is easier when more “ciphertext”, or encrypted messages, are available. The Swedish intelligence agency would have made short work of the messages, given the great number of messages intercepted by their superior equipment and the regular nature of the messages.
For instance, each message begins with the word “SECRET” followed by the name of the sender and recipient, which is given in both plain and ciphertext. If the codebreaker knows a particular phrase like this, called a “crib”, occurs in the plaintext, this can make the process of deciphering much easier.
Being able to see the original texts allows for a more accurate record of history, as the messages offer a contemporary, first person view into the conflict. Later accounts may well be whitewashed or self-serving by contrast.
What we found
The broad subjects covered by the messages included travel arrangements, arms deals, expenses and public relations.
The longest message was from Austine Okwu, the Biafran representative to Tanzania, to Colonel Ojukwu about taking the Biafran cause to the United Nations General Assembly. Other key characters in the messages were Christopher Mojekwu, described as “Ojukwu’s closest confidant of all”, and Chris Onyekwelu, Ojukwu’s brother-in-law.
One of the messages referred to members of the delegation bringing Biafra into disrepute by not being able to pay their hotel or telephone bills. The leaders urged frugality in the message.
Other messages referred to logistics, travel and shipments. For instance, one message from Mojekwu to Ojukwu referred to a weapons transfer and contacting “Achebe” – perhaps referring to the famous author.
Another message from October 1969 referred to the possibility of flights for salt and meat, and the extension of a hospital under the direction of Edgar Ritchie, an Irish obstetrician.
What next
Many of the cities and characters are still obscured by acronyms or codewords and remain to be identified, such as “HY” and “Chabert”. On the other hand, we were able to identify a whole series of other codewords concerning places because the plaintext described public events using codewords.
The key to the solutions was increased by computer power, storage, improved algorithms and international collaboration. The five-figure ciphers remain unsolved for any readers who want a challenge; although if a “one-time pad” encryption system has been used correctly, they may never be solved. Such a system provides perfect security if certain conditions are met.
In contrast, the system used would not have provided security to a determined eavesdropper. This gave us a rare window to see diplomatic communication – often protected by strong encryption – in action. To listen in, intelligence agencies either break the codes or insert a “backdoor” into the machines used.
Apart from being a fascinating project, we also believe the messages we decrypted provide a useful complement to the later written accounts of the participants in the war.
Richard Bean, Research Fellow, The University of Queensland; Frode Weierud, Electronics engineer, CERN, and George Lasry, Ph.D., the DECRYPT Project, University of Kassel
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Discovery of the earliest glass production in Nigeria and what it means.
The story of humankind from the earliest times to the present is in many ways a story about technology. Archaeologists tend to study the development of technology to show how people lived and how they interacted with their environment.
Discoveries of technological innovation and skill in ancient African societies have challenged western theories that had no place for such evidence. Western scholars tried instead to explain these findings as the result of external influence. For example the debate on the invention of iron metallurgy in Africa remains unsettled. And it took several decades before Africans were credited for the construction of the Great Zimbabwe stone architecture.
My ongoing research is another example of how archaeological evidence continues to overturn assumptions about technology in African societies. I found archaeological evidence of sophisticated indigenous glass technology at Ile-Ife, in southwest Nigeria, dated to about 1,000 years ago.
The evidence shows that the region was not just a consumer of glass made elsewhere but also contributed to technological development, innovation and creativity. It also suggests that glass beads were mass-produced at Ile-Ife and traded as prestige items.
Looking for evidence
The first evidence of glass made by humans dates to 2,500 BC. Globally, archaeologically known centres of primary glass production are few and concentrated in the Middle East, Mediterranean and Levant.
When investigating ancient glass making, archaeologists look for furnace remains, tools, finished objects, production waste, and presence or availability of raw materials. To complicate the matter, glass production does not generate much waste because failed products, scrapings, or droppings are added to and melted with the next batch. But sometimes archaeologists are fortunate to have more than one form of material relating to glass production to work with. This was the case at Ile-Ife, where my research on indigenous glass making has been going on for nearly a decade.
Over the years, we focused on a site called Igbo-Olokun, where evidence of a glass workshop had been known for over a century but never studied in detail. We also studied archaeological materials stored in the Natural History Museum at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife.
The findings from the archaeological excavations at Ile-Ife include several pits that appeared to be furnace ruins, over 20,000 glass beads, 1,500 crucible fragments (ceramic vessels used in glass production), and several kilograms of glass waste. Another artifact from the site is semi-finished glass, which is the object of study of my recently published work. Semi-finished glass is a halfway vitrified glass. The raw materials for the glass have coagulated but not yet turned completely into glass.
Laboratory analysis of this material with my colleagues Professor Thilo Rehren and Dr Laura Dussubieux provided a better understanding of the chemical signature of the glass. We could determine the source and types of the raw materials used, and decipher the technological process.
Results of the analysis show that Ile-Ife glass is chemically distinctive. It is now referred to as high lime high alumina (HLHA) glass – not known from anywhere else in the world.
What this tells us
The Ile-Ife site is the first known primary glass workshop in sub-Saharan Africa. Like their counterparts in other parts of the world, the glass makers at Ile-Ife explored the raw materials – geological and forest resources – that were available in the area. The concentration of the elements of the glass is consistent with that of the geological components in the region, which suggests that the glass makers invented their own glass recipe using the available resources.
The glass makers in ancient Ile-Ife used feldspar-rich granitic sand and/or pegmatite as the source of silica. They also used snail shell, which would have helped to reduce the melting temperature of the silicate materials and improve the quality of the glass. The quality was as good as glasses from other ancient societies.
Besides telling us how sophisticated this technology was, the research also tells us more about the role of West African forest communities in early regional commercial networks. We have established that bead was the main product manufactured at the workshop in Ile-Ife. It appears to have been produced in large quantities for trade. This means Ile-Ife was a producer and supplier of prestige items.
It is known from the archaeological evidence that sub-Saharan Africa was entwined in global connection through importing items like glass beads as far back as 600-400 BC. But this luxury item was also available within the region a thousand years ago.
Africans patronised the local sources, circulating and consuming locally made items. Ile-Ife HLHA glass beads have been found in early West African trading towns and cities such as Gao and Essouk in what is now Mali, and among the glass beads used to adorn the elite burial at Igbo Ukwu in eastern Nigeria.
This research has illuminated an aspect of Africa’s past that is often misrepresented or completely obliterated. Africa has always contributed to global technological breakthroughs and economic systems. The continent has an untold history of creativity.
Abidemi Babatunde Babalola, Smuts Research Fellow in African Studies , University of Cambridge
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
How we learnt more about dangerous pollutants in Lagos lagoon
How we learnt more about dangerous pollutants in Lagos lagoon
Lagos lagoon is the largest of four lagoon systems off the Gulf of Guinea. Several rivers and waterways empty into it, and it plays an important role in the West African coastal ecosystem as well as the Nigerian economy.
Several aquatic organisms in the lagoon are commercially important species, providing food and income for surrounding communities and beyond. The fish caught here represent more than half of Nigeria’s fisheries production of nearly 800,000 metric tonnes. This unique brackish water environment also plays significant roles in ecosystem stability and as a breeding ground for aquatic species.
Unfortunately, the lagoon receives enormous amounts of largely untreated industrial and other wastes. Lagos State accounts for most of the country’s industries and is home to an estimated 20 million people.
The Ogun, Osun, Ona and Yewa rivers empty large volumes of water from inland and coastal cities. This water is generally polluted by industrial, domestic and agricultural activities. The lagoon also receives a large quantity of pollutants from manufacturing and municipal activities in the greater Lagos metropolis. They include organic and inorganic pollutants which produce potential health risks for fish, shrimps and crabs – and people who eat them.
We conducted a study to evaluate the effects of these pollutants on fish food and the environmental health of the Lagos lagoon. We aimed to provide environmental health management authorities with scientific data for effective protection of marine ecosystems and human health. We used a novel method for analysing sediment samples, to understand how the different pollutants distribute within the lagoon ecosystem and affect the organisms that live there.
We found that the complex combination of pollutants in Lagos lagoon interferes with fish and mammal biology – especially their endocrine systems – and is potentially harmful to humans.
How we tested the effect of pollutants
The growth and industrialisation of big cities such as Lagos contribute many pollutants to water and land ecosystems. A number of pollution hotspots have also been identified in the area, including the city of Ikorodu, the slum area of Makoko and Idumota market. Plastic products, used tyres and car parts are some of the waste items that end up in the Lagos lagoon, through inappropriate waste disposal methods, dumping, and industrial and agricultural activities.
The end-station for these pollutants is the bottom of the lagoon. The sediments store pollutants and release them during heavy rainfall, winds and underwater turbulence. Bottom-dwelling organisms, particularly invertebrates, also stir up sediments during feeding and interactions between predators and prey, returning contaminants to the water.
In our study we tested three of the ways in which contaminants are released into the water in nature. This gave us a better understanding of how contaminants affect organisms in water.
The first method was elutriation, a process which simulates the natural process of mixing bottom soil and water, for example when boats disturb the water. In this process, pollutants are re-suspended in the water.
The second was polar extraction, which isolates pollutants that can dissolve in water and remain there in high concentrations.
The third was non-polar extraction. This method was used to evaluate the effects of pollutants that are transferred from sediment to organisms when they feed on particles of the bottom soil. Snails, earthworms, crabs and some fish can take in pollutants this way.
The different extraction methods produce results that are comparable to what happens in the natural environment. They allowed us to learn more about the complex interactions between water and bottom soil pollutants. We could also learn about the effects of pollutants on aquatic organisms, including the threat to their growth and reproduction.
We then exposed fish cells and rat cells to the pollutants extracted from the lagoon bottom soil.
Using animal cells (fish and rat) is a new way to avoid using live animals for research. It resolves the ethical dilemma associated with animal use in research and provides a deeper understanding of several biological processes. The molecular analysis of these cells can give an early warning of damage to animal and environmental health. Steps can then be taken to reduce harm.
What we found
Our assessment of contaminant loads at various parts of Lagos lagoon revealed a wide range of priority pollutants. These are pollutants with significant toxic potential for wildlife and humans. They include heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium, as well as organic compounds PCBs, phenols, PAHs and organotins. Some of these contaminants are known endocrine disrupting chemicals. They also induce enzyme systems that may alter the pollutant into a less harmful chemical and eliminate it from the body.
We reported that they produce hormonal imbalances with disruptive effects on the endocrine and chemical transformation systems of fish, crabs, shrimps and crocodiles. Such effects may lead to changes in reproductive organ development and result in gender confusion or the intersex condition. Documented effects on wildlife populations include reductions in fish species.
Our findings showed that exposing cells to low concentrations of the pollutants extracted from Lagos lagoon sediments not only killed the cells, but also activated the enzymes that metabolise these pollutants. Ultimately, this reduces the ability of the cell to break down pollutants properly, with further consequences for growth and reproduction.
Pollutants from industrial and domestic sources in the Lagos lagoon represent a cocktail of environmental contaminants. They are capable of interfering with the growth and reproduction of fish and mammals that depend on the stability of the lagoon ecosystem.
These findings imply that there are potential risks for harmful effects on human health. The pollutants are potentially transferred to humans from aquatic food resources. They become more concentrated along the food chain. Given that the hormone systems of vertebrates are similar, pollutants that affect fish will potentially affect humans in similar or comparable ways.
This indicates possible negative health consequences for people who depend on the lagoon as a food source.
The heavy pollutant load may also be contributing to the observed decrease in fish catches at the lagoon in recent times. This effect may arise from the inability of enough fish eggs and young fish to develop into adults. Or it could be from damage to food and nursery habitats for young fish.
What needs to happen
Until now, a lack of scientific information about pollution in the lagoon has made it difficult for regulatory bodies to develop and enforce water and food safety regulations. The information provided by our studies could contribute to developing protocols for treating industrial effluents. This is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14, on the protection of life under water.
We recommend that regulatory agencies develop and adopt a Nigerian version of REACh (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the European Union Regulation 1907/2006/EC regarding chemicals. They should also do more to enforce the legal protection of natural habitats.
Government and industrial facilities should work together to find ways to reduce pollution before effluents reach the lagoon.
And finally, scientists need to routinely monitor the environment to see how species are responding.
Aina Adeogun, Professor of Aquatic Toxicology, University of Ibadan
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Starting a business; The idea phase 3 (Inspiring moments)
Starting a business; The idea phase 3
Inspiring moments....
Inspiring moments....
Inspiring Moments
Inspiration can be anywhere. Here's
Starting a Business: The Idea Phase 2.(Get the juices flowing)
Starting a Business: The Idea Phase 2.
Get the Juices Flowing
How do you start the idea process? First, take out a sheet of paper and across the top write "Things About Me.
Starting a Business: The Idea Phase 1
Starting a Business: The Idea Phase
You know you want to start a business, but what do you do next? Here's how to find the perfect idea for your business.
Many people believe starting a business is a mysterious process. They know they want to start a business, but they don't know the first steps to take. In this chapter,
Old programming language that is still in use till date
COBOL
an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented. COBOL is primarily used in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. COBOL is still widely used in legacy applications deployed on mainframe computers, such as large-scale batch and transaction processing jobs. But due to its declining popularity and the retirement of experienced COBOL programmers, programs are being migrated to new platforms, rewritten in modern languages or replaced with software packages.most programming in COBOL is now purely to maintain existing applications.
It was
an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented. COBOL is primarily used in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. COBOL is still widely used in legacy applications deployed on mainframe computers, such as large-scale batch and transaction processing jobs. But due to its declining popularity and the retirement of experienced COBOL programmers, programs are being migrated to new platforms, rewritten in modern languages or replaced with software packages.most programming in COBOL is now purely to maintain existing applications.
COBOL was designed in 1959 by CODASYL and was partly based on the programming language FLOW-MATIC designed by Grace Hopper. It was created as part of a US Department of Defense effort to create a portable programming language for data processing. It was originally seen as a stopgap, but the Department of Defense promptly forced computer manufacturers to provide it, resulting in its widespread adoption.standardized in 1968 and has since been revised four times. Expansions include support for structured and object-oriented programming. The current standard is ISO/IEC1989:2014.
COBOL statements have an English-like syntax, which was designed to be self-documenting and highly readable. However, it is verbose and uses over 300 reserved words. In contrast with modern, succinct syntax like
y = x;, COBOL has a more English-like syntax (in this case, MOVE x TO y). COBOL code is split into four divisions(identification, environment, data and procedure) containing a rigid hierarchy of sections, paragraphs and sentences. Lacking a large standard library, the standard specifies 43 statements, 87 functions and just one class.
Academic computer scientists were generally uninterested in business applications when COBOL was created and were not involved in its design; it was (effectively) designed from the ground up as a computer language for business, with an emphasis on inputs and outputs, whose only data types were numbers and strings of text.[11]COBOL has been criticized throughout its life for its verbosity, design process, and poor support for structured programming. These weaknesses result in monolithic and, though intended to be English-like, not easily comprehensible and verbose programs.
The secret of police academy admission
FIVE WAYS TO BE A SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT OF POLICE ACADEMY
Most people think the admission into police academy is all about connection I tell you today that it has nothing to do with connection just follow this five steps and I assure you that 99% of gaining admission into police academy and the registration will start on the 13th of April
1>PROPER REGISTRATION: The first thing you need to do is to go online and register start your registration by clicking this link http://www.polac.edu.ng during registration make sure all the information you are filling in it are correct and non is contradicting each other because you may end up blaming yourself if you fill in any wrong information
2>JAMB SCORE : Your jamb score is very important, you must have atleast 180 in your jamb but as we all know that it is not possible for us to see someone with 250 and decided to admit that of 180 it is impossible so what I am trying to insinuate here is that someone with a higher score in jamb has more advantage , therefore your performance in your jamb determines alot .NOTE: don't panic if you don't have high score in jamb it is still very possible ,just make sure you meet the cutoff mark.
3>ENTRANCE EXAM :for you to be able to sit for this particular exam you must meet the cutoff mark (180) and remember there is nothing like miracle center ,read very well and do your best .no cheating because if you are caught cheating that is automatic Disqualification beware!
4>SCREENING: This is the final stage of every process whereby everyone that has been shortlisted will be tested one after the other . All successful candidate that have been shortlisted will be invited to the school for screening starting from all your documents which involves ( primary school certificate,junior secondary school certificate , senior secondary school certificate,date of birth certificate ,state of origin , original waec result or Neco result,original jamb result,examination card ,the photo card,result checker unused one) then after this you will go for medical test and also physical fitness test the last stage is facing of the school admission board where you will asked more than two(2) questions pertaining to your field of study and current affairs during the screening please this three (3) clue are very necessary 1>dressing
2>be at your best behaviour
3>follow all initial rules and regulations
5>PRAYER :The last thing you all need to do is prayer ,make sure you pray I'm any of your believe because it is only God that can crown one's effort
I wish every applicant GOOD LUCK! AND CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE TO THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
Most people think the admission into police academy is all about connection I tell you today that it has nothing to do with connection just follow this five steps and I assure you that 99% of gaining admission into police academy and the registration will start on the 13th of April
1>PROPER REGISTRATION: The first thing you need to do is to go online and register start your registration by clicking this link http://www.polac.edu.ng during registration make sure all the information you are filling in it are correct and non is contradicting each other because you may end up blaming yourself if you fill in any wrong information
2>JAMB SCORE : Your jamb score is very important, you must have atleast 180 in your jamb but as we all know that it is not possible for us to see someone with 250 and decided to admit that of 180 it is impossible so what I am trying to insinuate here is that someone with a higher score in jamb has more advantage , therefore your performance in your jamb determines alot .NOTE: don't panic if you don't have high score in jamb it is still very possible ,just make sure you meet the cutoff mark.
3>ENTRANCE EXAM :for you to be able to sit for this particular exam you must meet the cutoff mark (180) and remember there is nothing like miracle center ,read very well and do your best .no cheating because if you are caught cheating that is automatic Disqualification beware!
4>SCREENING: This is the final stage of every process whereby everyone that has been shortlisted will be tested one after the other . All successful candidate that have been shortlisted will be invited to the school for screening starting from all your documents which involves ( primary school certificate,junior secondary school certificate , senior secondary school certificate,date of birth certificate ,state of origin , original waec result or Neco result,original jamb result,examination card ,the photo card,result checker unused one) then after this you will go for medical test and also physical fitness test the last stage is facing of the school admission board where you will asked more than two(2) questions pertaining to your field of study and current affairs during the screening please this three (3) clue are very necessary 1>dressing
2>be at your best behaviour
3>follow all initial rules and regulations
5>PRAYER :The last thing you all need to do is prayer ,make sure you pray I'm any of your believe because it is only God that can crown one's effort
I wish every applicant GOOD LUCK! AND CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE TO THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
Fact!!! Have you ever wondered why you wear your wedding ring on your left finger ?
12 Fun Facts About Fingers- #4,6 and more are awesome...
Usually we try to be serious here. But once in a while we like to step outside the box, and just have some fun. So, how about some fun facts about fingers?
Facts!!! Top 10 facts about Tuesday
Tuesday is a day of the week occurring after Monday and before Wednesday. According to some commonly used calendars (esp. in the US), it is the third day of the week. According to international standard ISO 8601, however, it is the second day of the week.Take it or Leave it!!! These are Top 10 facts about Mondays
Top 10 facts about Mondays
2. Monday is the only day of the week when the US stock market is more likely to fall than rise.
These 25 Weird Facts Will Sound Totally False, But They’re Not. #3 Shocked Me!
