The Nation Newspaper

Tag: artificial

  • ‘Everything happening now is artificial’

    ‘Everything happening now is artificial’

    The CBN had assured that by the end of the second quarter the lingering recession assailing the country would have become a thing of the past but there appears to be difference of opinion on whether the country is still in recession or not. What’s your take on this?

    Everything happening now is artificial. It’s just some kind of manipulation to pretend that all is well. All is not well with the country politically, economically and socially in every facet of Nigerian life. Even the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also came out to support what myself and some other people have been saying that unless there is a change of policy the recession will linger on till 2018 unless we begin to do something that will drive domestic production. So we really need to look at that. Recession does not just happen and it’s not something that’ll just go by wishing it away. You have to make deliberate efforts.

    There is even a global projection or prediction that by 2018, there will be another round of recession which will further compound Nigeria’s woes. So there’s a problem. If anyone tells you recession is over or simply tries to wish it away, it’s impossible to wish such things away.

    But there is observable trends in the way some prices of goods are coming thereby suggesting that things are getting better. Is this cheery news?

    That the prices of some commodities are coming down doesn’t really mean we’re getting things cheaper because the purchasing power is gone. Any situation where the purchasing power of the people is low, the people will need to make choices. The market is about demand and supply. What we’ve is that the supply is heavy and the demand is low and the demand is low because of the low purchasing power. Those that have money are afraid to bring it out because of the body language of the government on corruption. Investment everywhere is about confidence. There is need for the government to examine its policy on corruption because the way they’re fighting corruption is such that some people are benefiting from the prevailing situation. It’s like trying to wipe out one form of corruption and instituting another form of corruption. Corruption is not going anywhere and corruption will continue to fight back.

    What is the way forward?

    As I said, the way out is to begin to invest inwards by looking at domestic production. As far as l’m concerned, the exchange rate crisis will still be there no matter how they try to manipulate it. The government needs to take advantage of the situation by encouraging domestic production. Besides domestic production, there is need to build human capital. It’s very key because all these infrastructure you’re building if you don’t have people to manage them things will go from bad to worst.

  • Mastercard deploys artificial intelligence

    Mastercard deploys artificial intelligence

    Mastercard has un-veiled  fraud management solution named Decision Intelligence (AI). The solution, it said, would use artificial intelligence technology to help financial institutions increase the accuracy of real-time approvals of genuine transactions and reduce false declines.

    This is the first use of AI being implemented on a global scale directly on the Mastercard network. Decision Intelligence claims to go beyond focusing primarily on risk assessment by taking a broader view in assessing, scoring and learning from each transaction. That score then enables the card issuer to apply the intelligence to the next transaction.

    “We are solving a major consumer pain point of being falsely declined when trying to make a purchase,” said Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise risk and security, Mastercard. “By using AI technology on our global network, we’re helping financial institutions and merchants improve approval rates – and the consumer experience.”

    Building on other proprietary services, Decision Intelligence claims to use sophisticated algorithms to provide a predictive score to the issuer, based on intelligent analysis. Issuers then incorporate that information into their existing fraud mitigation efforts. Alternatively, issuers can activate a Mastercard tool, which makes data-driven, real-time decisions tailored to the account, including defined alert and decline thresholds.

    Decision Intelligence examines how a specific account is used over time to detect normal and abnormal shopping spending behaviors. In doing so, the product leverages account information like customer value segmentation, risk profiling, location, merchant, device data, time of day, and type of purchase made.

    “We estimate that in the U.S. alone, the value of false declines is more than 13 times the total amount lost to actual card fraud,” said Al Pascual, senior vice president, research director and head of fraud and security at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Applying machine learning to decision-scoring is a new way of creating a positive consumer experience, while also minimizing fraud.”

    The addition of AI as a core component of the Mastercard network is expected to deliver an enhanced fraud score for every transaction.

  • Animal artificial insemination centres coming

    The Federal Government will set up about 200 animal artificial insemination centres across the country, Agriculture and Rural Development Minster Chief Audu Ogbeh has said.

    Ogbeh spoke when he received a delegation of officials from Ireland, led by the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Marine and Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, in his office in Abuja.

    Ogbeh, who decried the production or less than one litre of milk daily by cattle in the country, said 37 per cent of children are malnourished, according to the United Nations international Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

    He noted that the administration would collaborate with developed countries, particularly, the Irish government to move the agricultural sector forward.

    He said various initiatives and technical programmes would be introduced to attract youths into the sector, noting that the sector had hitherto been left to the older generation.

    Ogbeh said the ministry would engage in massive irrigation system in the north to grow feeders to feed the cattle and prevent their migration.

    He praised the delegation of Irish officials for their visit and their determination to foster better partnership with Nigeria.

    He said the nation was ready to partner with the Irish government in capacity building, livestock production as well as expansion of palm oil and sugar industries, among others.

    Ogbeh  said the ministry would open up further discussions with the delegation to share ideas and knowledge on how to move the agricultural sector forward.

    Coveney said the purpose of their visit was to build on the relationship between the two countries to boost trade and investments in agriculture.

    He said Ireland is good in food technology and development of indigenous capacity in agriculture.

    He said the Irish government was ready to share its 50 years’ experiences in agriculture with Nigeria. He said his country has many youths in the agriculture, adding that this would be replicated in Nigeria.

    Coveney said Ireland produces about 40 per cent of infant formula globally.

    The Ireland Minister praised the focus of the Buhari administration on the diversification of the  economy to agriculture, saying  about 43 Irish firms were in the country. He said food firms from Ireland would link up with the country to create jobs, wealth and add value to food production.

    He invited officials of the ministry  to Ireland for knowledge sharing which would be needed to develop the  sector.

  • FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets not afraid of artificial turf

    FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets not afraid of artificial turf

    The captain of Nigeria U20 Women team, Patience Okaeme has said it doesn’t matter on what type of surface they play, following the news that Moncton, the venue of their Group games, is fitted with an artificial turf.

    Okaeme insists that having a very good knowledge of their group opponents will put them in a good position to progress.

    “The knowledge we have of our group opponents is good, I believe that will give us an advantage in some ways.

    “I know they must have done their homework on us as well,but that hasn’t deterred us one bit, we are focused,” Okaeme said.

    Nigeria will play against Mexico, South Korea, and England, with the Falconets playing their first game against Mexico on August 6.

  • 2014 WWC: Falconets to play on artificial turf

    2014 WWC: Falconets to play on artificial turf

    The Nigeria Under 20  women’s national team, the Falconets, will play at least two of their group games at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Mocton, on an artificial turf, the first time this will happen at the U-20 Women’s World Cup. The playing surface will be FIFA-certified football turfs in three of the four stadiums, Montreal, Edmonton and Moncton, with natural grass only being used in Toronto.

    The particular geographic and climatic conditions in Canada means it is more expedient to play on artificial turf. For example, outdoor grass pitches in Edmonton and Moncton cannot be used during the long cold winter months.