How Your Organization Should Prepare For Civil Disturbance

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how your organization should prepare for civil disturbance 1 transformed

Civil disturbance is any organized mass mobilization of civil groups for expression of disagreement or dissatisfaction over a course through open and public demonstration. Such course oftentimes includes government actions or policies, civil right concerns, animal right, business concerns, and socio-economic or religious issues. Civil disturbance may occur in form of industrial strike where an interest group may decide to down tool and refuse to work for their organization unless a particular concern is addressed. It may be a protest where some civil groups march on the streets or other locations with placards to show dissatisfaction about a concern. Civil disturbance can come as a demonstration – where the concern groups march in different form within the community to show non-acceptance or disagreement over a course. Other coercive ways civil disturbance may take place include picketing, lockout, riot and stay-at-home. This forms are usually marked by intent for commotion and violence. In the fast-evolving contemporary world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity otherwise known as VUCA it makes sense for organizations to be prepared to respond to civil disturbance with its potential for business disruption in different ways. Many countries of the world are currently faced with challenge of dealing with and addressing civil disturbance. Regardless of the form a civil disturbance takes, it has potential to cause worry. See below, some common concerns during civil disturbance and the strategic ways your organization can approach and mitigate its impacts. Safety and security concerns: civil disturbance is perceived to be a threat to safety and security of people and assets within the community. In reality, especially in cases where it turns to violence it can actually cause injuries, damages, destruction and even fatality. Apprehension: civil disturbance takes away peace and spread fears, anxiety and uneasiness in the community. This is enough to affect productivity in the workplace. Potential business disruption: civil disturbance can alter routine business activity. E.g., it disrupts movement of people and supply chain. Potential revenue loss: civil disturbance can lead to loss of revenues for businesses impacted by it. Example is when customers, clients and service providers are unable to move around to exchange goods and services. Man-hour loss is also a revenue loss. Elevated risk: civil disturbance has potential to increase business risk especially when it persists beyond anticipated period. It creates uncertainties and increases high cost of doing business. How your organization should prepare for civil disturbance:  Set up BCP committee: business continuity planning committee must be in place. This committee should be comprised of functional leads and other critical stakeholders in the organization. The group will be charged with strategic response before, during and after event of civil disturbance and other emergencies.  Have comprehensive BCP: your organization should have a business continuity plan. This document will provide step by step guide for responding to emergencies which have potential to cause business disruption. The plan should be a fit-for-purpose one; that considers peculiarity of your operating environment. It is recommended that SWOT analysis precedes this plan. Maintain strategic communication: the business continuity plan must make explicit declaration about communication during emergencies. This should include, the focal person, what should be communicated? How it will be communicated? And who should carry out such communication? The essence of strategic communication is to manage panic and to comply with regulatory requirements. Reach out to stakeholder: contemporary business world thrives better on shared resources. Reaching out to community and industry stakeholders during civil disturbance is highly recommended. Such group may include regulatory authorities, law enforcement, and industry players. When you reach out, you will know more and take better informed decision. Maintain frequent updates: it pays better to ensure that frequent updates are provide to your employees and relevant others during civil disturbance. Your workforce will have reasonable trust and confidence for updates shared from trusted authority within the organization than being bamboozled by social media updates. Updates from the organization must be credible, apt and direct enough to reflect the real-time situation report and the approved actions. Civil disturbance is a reality of modern VUCA world. It will always occur in different dimensions. To be prepared for it, is the way your organization should go, so as to mitigate its impact on your business. ALSO READ: Electricity Energy Theft Is A Crime

Benefits Of Employee Background Check

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employee background check

Employee background check is a key business tool every organization must deploy and optimized as access control. Hiring the right candidate for a position is critical for success of any business. Employee background check is a conscious activity to prove or disprove claims made by applicant seeking job opportunity in an organization. It is a verification exercise to know the veracity of information provided about an individual. Honest, discipline and good candidates abound in the labor market however, in their midst are also dishonest, dirty, criminal and evil-minded candidates who always disguise as good fit seeking job opportunity. The conduct of a criminal minded and unfit employee (s) can put an organization out of business in one fell swoop. In a modern world characterized by shrinking employment opportunities, it is expected that available jobs will attract many applicants, who out of desperation will be willing to give misleading information or withhold material facts about themselves.  Due diligence demands that organizations must consciously screen candidates through different lens before opening their doors. While other skillset remain import for success in the job, integrity stands out as key trait to seek during hire. Employee background check is the tool. Key security concerns include: Resume fraud Workplace violence Workplace fraud & theft Drug & alcoholic abuse Insider threats The sensitivity of job position should determine the scope and the depth of background check. However, such check must include some of these essentials: Residences Criminal profile Education and certificates Present or previous workplace References & guarantors Credit history Medical history Affiliations Benefits of employee background check to your business: Enables KYE: know your employee can only be made possible by background check. Some business may take informed decision and take a chance to hire someone with questionable background. Such employee will be on close watchlist of the organization. Guarantees safety & security:  rigorous background check will provide assurance that a criminal, irrational or dangerous person was not hired. Safety and security of workplace begins with having good and honest people. Compliance to regulation: employee background check in some areas may be a strict requirement by a regulatory authority. To avoid sanctions or business disruption, it must be done. Prevents negligence hiring: in event of negative actions of an on-duty employee which result to legal reaction; proven employee background check may weaken negligent hire argument against the organization. Reduce employee turnover: the rate of employee turnover will likely be low if your organization have sound background check practice. Reason is, more honest and less dangerous people will be employed. This in turn will decrease chances for employment terminations or dismissals. Increases revenue: it cost money to hire and to fire employee. When organization’s personnel turnover is low, revenue will increase because the business budget for hire and fire is not draining. Furthermore, there will be less disruption in routine operation of the business. Promotes informed decision: when an organization decide to employee a candidate with questionable character; perhaps for technical reasons, it is an informed decision. Such action should be backed up with other countermeasures. Promotes healthy workplace: a workplace full of honest and good people will be healthy and less toxic. Such community will be characterized by trust, confidence, peace and mutual growth. Improves reputation: a workplace full of honest and good people will attract trust and confidence from customers/clients. Customers’ trust builds reputation and increases revenue for the business.  Discourages dishonesty and encourages honesty: an organization with sound background check practice will discourage criminals and dangerous persons from applying to their jobs. In the same vein, honest and good persons will be encouraged to apply for the jobs. Society will grow better with more honest people. In conclusion: employee background check has significant benefits for any organization that truly practice it. The return on investment is high. Prominently, it shuts the gate against criminals and dangerous persons and it increases revenues for the business. ALSO READ: Remote work and the future of the workplace 

Embracing Love After Life’s Hardest Trials

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Embracing Love After Life’s Hardest Trials

Mike and Miracle’s love is tested by the cruel hand of fate—cancer, infertility, and heartache threaten to break their bond. Yet, in their quiet moments together, they chose love above all else, finding beauty in each other and the strength to keep going. It wasn’t an easy journey, but Mike took the lead, and gradually, Miracle began to open up to him. One such moment unfolded in the intimacy of their home, where Mike followed Miracle to the bathroom, eager to continue their conversation, having no intention of letting it end just yet. Miracle, conscious of his gaze, slowly removed her clothes while continuing to contribute to their discussion He sat down on the chair he had brought into the bathroom. “For gists and the likes,” he had said when he bought a chair specifically for the bathroom. Their discussion didn’t have to end simply because one of them needed to bathe. The other could simply follow and the discussion could continue. He actually did this. Miracle found it awkward after their wedding to just sit and talk and watch him bathe. He, on the other hand, enjoyed it and most times either joined in the bath or offered to scrub her back. Now, she was so sure he was watching her even as he talked about his colleague, a professor who got a student pregnant and forced her to abort the baby. She panicked, her hands shook as she slid her underwear down her legs. She turned her back as she was about to take off her bralette. “What are you doing? Why are you turning away?” Mike stopped her quickly and stood up from the chair. “I just wanted to take off -” He didn’t let her finish and said, “I’ve told you to stop turning away from me.” The tears welled in her eyes just as her breathing got laboured. “I’m sorry,” Miracle said. “Its fine,” he responded and helped her unhook her bralette. Her left breast fell slightly against her chest. Where her right breast once occupied, stood a straight patched line which appeared after she healed from the mastectomy. The surgery humbled her just as the cancer did when it came. Having just one breast to boast of her femininity made her feel so small and made her hide, especially from Mike. She stopped hugging him, didn’t want his body touching or feeling the absence of one of her breasts. She wore big boubou gowns even in the house and wouldn’t let him touch her as he used to. With time, she recovered and accepted her fate just as the surgical line left a permanent scar on her right breast area. Other parts of her didn’t recover: her womb couldn’t house a baby even after all attempts. They had many speculations and tried different medications but none worked. Their very last attempt was In vitro fertilization, and that took root. They were elated, and just when it was time to receive their baby, she pushed him out, dead. Then the cycle began, again and again, they both watched their hope rise and fall with each miscarriage until there was no pregnancy at all. Miracle had imagined he would find her unattractive after all she had been through. Mike had loved her body and looked at her like she was a prized possession. She loved that very effect she had on him and always found ways to tease him and bring him to do her bidding. Initially, she fought the cancer badly, determined not to be overthrown by the deadly disease, but it came hard as well. She shrunk under its gaze, her succulent body shriveled up, her hips gave way for gaps, she lost a good amount of her hair, and lastly, it took one of her breasts. Then infertility came for her, it broke her further, and she hid even more She hated her body and hated the things it was doing to her. It birthed low self-esteem and it crushed her spirit daily. It broke Mike more. He was clueless and did not know how to help her or help their marriage. “Just talk to her.” It sounded crazy when Pastor Ifemi told him to just talk with his wife daily and build true friendship away from their struggles. So he started talking every day, he called her at intervals during the day, and when he was home, he ensured he took the lead to talk and tell her stories. So he started talking every day, he called her at intervals during the day and when he was home, he ensured he took the lead to talk and tell her stories. She began to open up then. Their devotion returned, she prayed with her voice raised and started singing in the house again. In those moments, he assured her that she was beautiful and he loved her body just as he did when they got married and before their struggles began. And it was then he told her never to turn away or try to hide her body from him. Their devotion returned, she prayed with her voice raised and started singing in the house again. . . He helped her into the bathtub and went back to the chair. He remembered they were having a conversation about his colleague in school and continued from where he stopped. READ ALSO: Scars That Break Us

Marrying Wrong and the Truth It Reveals

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Marrying Wrong and the Truth It Reveals

Mum would often use her life as an example of the consequences of marrying the wrong person. She didn’t need to explicitly share her story for us to understand; her experiences spoke volumes. She lived in fear of our Dad, her husband, a fear that was so overwhelming it eroded her self-esteem and left her feeling humbled. Before all this started, Mum had loved Dad with all her heart, and she would often recall how she couldn’t wait to marry him when he came to ask for her hand in marriage. She was young and deeply in love, eager to spend her life with Dad. Whenever she shared this memory, her eyes would cloud with painful nostalgia. I could see the lingering longing in her gaze, a yearning to be loved by the man she married – a love she had only known briefly, a long time ago. I could see it too – the silence, the monosyllabic responses, the shouts, and even the beatings. At first, we thought that’s how married couples behaved; that wives should have a reverential fear for their husbands, and husbands should dominate the home with an iron fist. But as we grew older, my elder brother Ese and I began to notice the difference between other couples and our parents. We realized then that something was terribly wrong in our home. Our parents were unlike any others we had seen. Dad never physically abused us, but he did abuse Mum. He would hit her at the slightest provocation and was quick to shout at her if she made any mistake. He would storm out of the living room if she tried to join him and would raise his voice if Mum was running late getting ready for church on Sundays. He was hypercritical, finding fault in everything she did – the food she cooked, the clothes she wore, her initial joblessness, and even after she started a supermarket, he still managed to find fault in that too. He belittled her and rendered her voiceless, silencing her opinions and preventing her from speaking up when she disagreed with a decision. Mum lived in the shadows of her own home, constantly afraid and lonely. But whenever Dad traveled and she was left with Ese and me, a different side of her emerged. We would laugh and share jokes, watch TV until we were exhausted, and go on shopping sprees. We’d dine out and explore all the fun spots in town. She’d invite her friends over and even join them for nights out, staying out late and enjoying herself. She transforms every time into an entirely different person, and it’s that vibrant version of her that Ese and I adored. However, when Dad returns from his trip, Mum would retreat back into her shell, and the laughter and joy would be completely drained from our home. I’ve never seen Mum and Dad share a conversation or laughter together; they live parallel lives, each engrossed in their own world – Dad in his smartphone, Bible, family devotion, and church services, while Mum does the same. This created a suffocating atmosphere in our home. I often wondered how a man could once love and cherish a woman, bringing her close, only to leave her feeling isolated and alone after having children. It seemed like he deprived her of the very companionship she craved. I carried this troubling image of my parents’ marriage with me when I left home for university. ****** Now at 33, I still hesitated to commit to any man. What’s the point of following someone if it means ending up as desolate as my mum was in her marriage? I’ve witnessed enough to know that I don’t want to get married only to become heartbroken and afraid for the rest of my life. My brother Ese, on the other hand, was different. He had friends, including female ones, and eventually fell in love and got married. I was surprised at his decision but then I realized he was a man, and our parents’ troubled marriage had seemingly no impact on him, unlike me. I was wrong; just six months after his wedding, Nadia, his wife, called me one morning as I was driving to work. “He hit me!” she exclaimed, her voice trembling, “I accidentally spilled tea on his shirt, and he became enraged, slapping me and then beating me.” I froze on the wheels, unable to move as I listened in shock. When she finished speaking, I realized that Ese hadn’t escaped the patterns of our childhood after all; the cycles of violence and abuse were repeating themselves in his own marriage. READ ALSO: Silence is Not Always Golden

 How to Achieve Good Health Goals

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how to achieve good health goals

Each person has goals they want to achieve in various aspects of their lives; financial goals, relationship goals, life goals, even health goals. We all know that good health these days is underrated and as the saying goes, “Health is Wealth”! So, whether you are trying to stay fit, lose some weight, reduce stress, you’d have to set out some health goals to achieve this. A health goal is a plan that is made and carried out to help you improve or maintain your health. Be it your physical health, emotional wellbeing, or mental health, all these aspects of your health needs to be well taken care of for you to achieve good health. However, a lot of people get disappointed when they set a goal and can’t attain it, because, after a little while, they give up, and this is all due to the fact that they can’t keep up to achieve the set goals they already have in mind. It’s a long journey when you plan to achieve set goals. It might not be an easy one but, here are some things you can do to achieve your goals as regards achieving good health;   Be intentional When people try to make changes as regards their lifestyle, they attempt to make changes that seem unrealistic, as they often appear to be wishes rather than goals. You have to be intentional about the goals you set, make attainable goals that will give you the ultimate push and motivate you right from start.   2. Have a step wise plan To pursue your overall goal, you need to achieve this in steps. Don’t just push yourself to achieve this in just a moment, it takes time, so try to achieve this in steps. Make plans as regards your nutrition, exercise that will give you a healthy lifestyle.   3. Do not relent! It is good to have good health goals, and they can be challenging to achieve but one thing is this, do not give up! If you fall off the wagon, get on it again, just go easy on yourself, consider that drawback a learning experience, figure out what happens and how you can avoid it in the future so as to prevent it from happening again. Nobody is perfect, just keep going in the journey till you overcome the difficulties you encounter, and achieve the good health you have been longing for!   4. Seek Support To keep up with a healthy lifestyle and achieving an overall good health goal is difficult, you should not do it alone. You will need to have like-minded individuals with the same goals around you. These people will encourage you, cheer you on and help you to be focused on achieving your set goals. You can involve yourself in support groups, exercise groups, fitness groups. Finding the right people to support you in your Health journey is very important.   5. Record your progress Writing down a progress report about achieving your goals will help you to see how you’re doing in the journey. You can get a journal to record this or you can record them on your phone’s notepad. It helps you to monitor how far you’ve come and what still needs to be done.   6. Reward yourself When you reach a particular goal, or milestone in the journey, reward yourself! Remember, in a healthy way, to help you maintain a positive mindset to achieving your goals. In conclusion , everyone wants to live a healthy live but it’s up to each person to be determined and work towards achieving this goal! ALSO READ: What is a Plant Based Diet and its Benefit ?

Security Guides for Hiring Domestic Workers

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Security guides for hiring domestic workers

Security guides for hiring domestic staff is worth all efforts in this era of collapsing extended family system and increasing acceptance of nuclear family. Domestic workers have come to close the gap created by absence of assistance from extended family members. Domestic workers refer to persons employed by a home owner to provide home support services. Domestic workers may include nanny, maid, driver, security, cook, fitness instructor, home teacher or coach. The rich and affluence needs domestic workers to keep their homes running to the satisfaction of their desired glamor. The middle-class group, women empowerment and the increasing presence of working-class mothers have also made it almost inevitable for modern urban families to function normal without hired domestic workers to fulfill home services. Domestic workers in all ramification are creating real time value in our contemporary society. Regardless, there are associated potential security risks when domestic workers are hire without proper due diligence. Employing strangers into your private home automatically exposes yourself and your family to some risks. As such, it is essential to conduct some kind of security checks. Note, not every domestic worker is a criminal; however, the rising cases of both simple, heinous and organized crimes committed by some domestic workers has casted some sort of apprehension in the mind of people who inevitably require their services. Hence, this security guide for public enlightenment. See below basic security guides to apply when hiring and after hiring domestic workers. Hire from trusted source: contract employment of domestic workers to a registered and reputable Human Resources organization. A reputable HR company would carry out expected due diligence and maintain duty of care for its clients during the partnership. As much as possible, avoid artisanal or self-hire. Background check report: this should be mandatory. It would provide insight to past and possibly the present background of the applicant you intend to employ. Police character certificate: a mandatory report to have. This is issued by the Police to show criminal records about an applicant. Social media check: in this age of physical or virtual life it is also key to profile an applicant online using acceptable social media platforms such as Instagram, facebook, Twitter or X, etc. before a job is offered. Have a personnel file: maintain a periodically updated personnel file for domestic workers. Such file should contain relevant data which must include curriculum vitae, updated copy of guarantor forms, copy of recent full-glare photograph, updated copy of utility bill for non-residence workers, updated medical fitness report, a copy of standard identity card, Police clearance report and any other documents considered to have safety and security relevance. Having this updated records about a worker would create some security deterrence effect. Ensure to keep all personal information and records strictly confidential, and restricted access should apply. If the applicant is successful and employment is offered, next phase of guide should include: Periodic medical fitness: to ascertain that applicant is fit to continue work. Monitor life their style: to know their associate, character, behavior, and manner. Do not take for granted any cue or clue which suggest that your domestic worker may possess a dangerous personality or may have motive associated with criminality. Install smart home CCTV: this would show surveillance of activities within the home and provide intelligent insight. Install smart panic alarm: this would be activated for assistance during emergency or dangerous situation. Keep valuables out of sight: this would prevent temptation to steal or to connive with others to organize home theft. Practice emotional intelligence: be humble, treat your workers nice, relate with them as a fellow human, not as slaves. Show empathy and care, give extra assistance when it is necessary. In conclusion: it is believed that a reputable worker will be known, only after employment is given. Having domestic workers indeed exposes your home, yourself and family members to real time potential security and safety risks. It is advised to consciously take precautionary steps to know who you want to employ; during the contract, to know who you have employed. In this era of raw criminality, no efforts are too much to invest to have peace. ALSO READ: Cybersecurity Threat Of Social Engineering

How to Maintain Mental Health

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How to Maintain Mental Health As humans, we often downplay our mental health. We also can’t also stop emphasizing  the saying, “health is wealth”. Health refers to a state of total wellbeing of a person, and this involves many aspects- physical, emotional, psychological, mental areas of our lives. The focus of this article is mental health. Mental health refers to a state of mental wellbeing of a person and this affects his/her psychological, behavioral and emotional state of a person. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. Nowadays, people are faced with various challenges that put them at a risk of mental stress or issues. The issue of mental health is a global concern with half the world’s population developing a mental stress/disorder/issues in their lifetime. This issue affects majorly every aspect of one’s life and needs to also be considered a priority to maintain an overall healthy life! Below are recommended tips to maintain your mental health;   Exercise regularly Exercise keeps your body physically active and fit. It helps to relieve tension and stress and boost your energy. While exercising some feel-good hormones are released, these are called endorphins, these hormones helps your body to feel good. Exercising can also help you boost your esteem. As small an exercise walking is, it can help boost your mental health if practiced regularly. Other exercises you can practice for at least 30 minutes in a day are: yoga, cycling, gardening.   Eat balanced diet Right from a very young age, we were taught that eating balanced diet is very important for our body to grow. We didn’t also know that eating balanced diet is needed for our mental health. When you eat a well-planned nutritious meal, it helps to increase your energy and cognitive function.   Seek social support Social company is needed to maintain your mental health. This support can come from friends and families, they help to provide companionship when needed, and boost your energy. They can also help to prevent you from having depression or anxieties. That feeling of belonging, love and care is important for mental health to be maintained.   Get involved in activities you love Getting involved in what you love doing in full time or per time, that is, your hobbies, keep you busy and can help maintain your mental health. You can have a regular routine of things you enjoy doing because they help lighten your mood, reduce stress and makes you feel good. According to Connect Health and Community, research shows that people with hobbies are less likely to suffer from low moods, stress and depression.   Try to rest and manage stress Anytime you’re feeling overwhelmed or distressed about a particular thing or at any moment, you should always find a way to rest- by cooling off, or sleeping. This can boost your energy, just take a break or a time off. Stress can take a big toll on our physical health and mental health as well.   Have a positive mindset Having a positive mindset is very important and whatever situation you find yourself in. This helps to kick out negative thoughts that might weigh you down and stress you out negatively. Thinking positively helps you to cope better when you are in stressful moments.   As individuals, we often find ourselves undergoing a lot of stress lately, the tips given above will help you to maintain your mental health and keep you from spiraling down mentally. ALSO READ: From Stigma to Support: Youth Mental Health  Transformation     

6 Interesting Facts About Tim Walz- Kamala Harris’ Running Mate

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Tim Walz has been selected by Kamala Harris of the United States of America as her running mate for the upcoming 2024 US presidential election. Many Americans expected whom Harris would pick as her vice for the presidential race, being a coloured female who had served as the vice president for Joe Biden for three and a half years. At the announcement of Tim, so many never expected such a qualified and competent running mate, whom was not well known. Below are basic interesting facts about Tim, Walz. Tim Walz is an American politician serving as the Governor of Minnesota. Walz was elected as the Governor of Minnesota, in 2018. He was serving his sixth term representing Minnesota congressional district. He serves the southern Minnesota on three committees in the United States. He assumed office on January 7, 2019. As governor, he has focused on issues such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and climate change.   He had his early life and education in Nebraska. Tim Walz was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Chadron State College and a Master’s degree in Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Tim’s father was a public administrator and community activist. From a tender age, Tim had learned the values of hard work and community service. These values instilled propelled him as a leader through his career trajectory.   He served as a former social studies teacher and high school football coach. In Tim’s career, before venturing into politics, he had a teaching career. Tim was a high school teacher and a coach. He served as a geography teacher and coach at Mankato west High school. He started teaching from 1989-1990 in a high school, in China, as part of the first government groups of American educators. These were those who taught in China, through a program at the Harvard University. He taught social studies and coached various sports at Mankato West High School.     Tim Walz was a National Guard veteran. In his military service, Walz served in the U.S. Army National Guard from 1989 to 2005. He was deployed to Kosovo and also served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Also, he is regarded as the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in the congress. Walz has been recognized for his work in Congress with awards from different organisations like, the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, the American Cancer Society, the National Association of Development Organizations, the National Farmers Union and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.   Tim Walz began his political career in 2006 when he was elected as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 1st congressional district. He served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019. He is a ranking member of the Agricultural subcommittees on General farm commodities and risk Management. Tim Walz serves as the co-chair for the congressional sportsmen’s caucus, and has leadership post at the National Guard, Reserve Caucus and the congressional Veterans Job Caucus.   His Personal Life: Walz is married to Gwen Walz, his wife whom he in Nebraska. They both got married in 1994 but had to wait for seven years before they had their children. Also, they have two children whom Tim describes as being born through the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, after years of struggling with infertility. Currently, the family resides in Mankato, Minnesota. Walz attends the Evangelical church in America. He has once been arrested for driving in 1995, under the influence of alcohol, which he never took afterwards.   ALSO READ: Colorado Court Disqualifies Trump from 2024 Ballot

Electricity Energy Theft Is A Crime

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Electricity energy theft is a crime

Electricity energy theft refers to deliberate and clandestine use of electricity without paying for it. This criminal activity is becoming increasing and a disturbing phenomenon following the 2013 partial privation of power sector in Nigeria. Currently, the power sector is divided into three components viz; Generation companies, Transmission company and Distribution companies. While private sector organizations are running the Generation and the Distribution companies, Federal Government still runs and manages the Transmission company. How the value chain works is that, generation company would source energy, transmission company would transport it, and the distribution companies would sell it to direct end users. The three hubs must interact to make electricity energy available for customers. Electricity theft directly affects distribution companies who interface with end users. However, its adverse effects also indirectly impact generation and transmission subsectors, with overall negative implication for entire Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry – (NESI). The revenue loss incurred by distribution companies due to electricity theft hinders their ability to seamlessly fulfill contractual business obligations to both transmission and generation companies.  About 21 billion naira is estimated as the annual average loss caused by electricity energy theft to the industry. Electricity energy theft is currently witnessing significantly increase. The rising trend is believed to be influenced by service-based tariff (SBT) which was recently introduced and enforced by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission – NERC. The practice categorized electricity customers into five bands with discriminatory service access and tariff. Band A has minimum of 20 hours of power supply and highest tariff Band B has minimum of 16 hours of power supply and high tariff Band C has minimum of 12 hours of power supply and moderate tariff Band D has minimum of 8 hours of power supply and below moderate tariff Band E has minimum of 4 hours of power supply with the least tariff. Investment in energy sector is highly capital intensive. It takes lots of business gut and risk to venture into it. Electricity energy theft is widespread and has become an underground economy where organized criminals unleash their heist to undermine growth in the industry and the overall economy. The Electric Power Sector Reform Act – EPSRA of 2005, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission – NERC makes provisions that strongly criminalizes electricity energy theft. The law makes it clear that any person who willfully and unlawfully taps electric connections anywhere, tampers with a meter, damages or destroyed electric apparatus and equipment shall be punished with terms of imprisonment as applicable, between five to seven years. Some states such as Lagos state have also made legislative law that makes electricity theft a criminal offence. The organized criminal agents who carry out electricity energy theft in Nigeria are either aware of these laws but chose to violate them; or they are ignorant about its existence. These agents are suspected to include electricity user customers, staff of the industry, artisanal electrical engineers and others who oftentimes witness and ignore it. What is more? these criminals perceive their malicious acts as “normal”. There is nothing normal in criminality under any guise. The overall negative impacts of electricity energy theft to Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry are wild. It makes the industry economically unviable, as such less attractive to entrepreneurial. It is stunting growth of the industry and the wider national economy as a lot of micro and macro activities depend on power to thrive. It is one of the major contributors to unstable power supply due to inability of the industry to maintain consistent increase in generating target megawatt. Note, Nigeria’s electricity megawatt target was 10000, however, the industry never exceeded 5000 since current inception. Methods of electricity energy theft include: Bypass: run a double connection to bypass normal meter reading, and use electricity direct from the grid. Illegal connection: carry out unapproved connection to undervalue used electricity. Meter tampering: rig meter reading for customer to pay less. Ways to prevent and detect electricity energy theft: Smart metering: adopt installation of smart meters to all electricity users. Smart metering system has capacity to generate user analytics, create patterns, detect and alert control room about attempted and real tampers. Public awareness: create awareness to educate energy users that electricity theft in any manner is a criminal offence and offenders are liable to jail terms of five to seven years. Undercover agent: create undercover and whistleblowing agents who carries out surveillance operation and report credible findings to appropriate authority for necessary and prompt actions. Strict enforcement of extant laws: enforce the laws without bias or compromise where guilt is established. In summary, electricity energy theft is real. It is a criminal activity oftentimes carry out by organized criminal gangs which include customers who use electricity at their homes or businesses. Their activity is largely contributing to instability of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. ALSO READ: Clean Energy: 5 Importance Of Utilizing It

Silence is Not Always Golden

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Silence is Not Always Golden

Silence is not always golden, sometimes. It is plain yellow and it demands that one should speak up and not remain silent. Cheta was not silent after Anthony, her Madam’s husband, raped her repeatedly. This is her story. At the first thrust, Anthony froze, time seemed to suspend itself as he remained motionless, perhaps lost in thought, contemplating the intensity of the moment. He soon let it go and started moving. He went faster and faster and closed his eyes to savour her sweetness while Cheta’s cries and pleas faded into the background. He liked her, he had always liked her from the very first time his wife brought her in. Her innocent face was the first thing that caught his attention that cold Saturday morning. Her “Good morning, sir” while kneeling to greet him melted his heart and when she tried to stand up from the respect-induced position, his eyes rested on her cleavage. He nodded in answer and watched her follow his wife into the narrow passageway leading to the bedrooms. His eyes lingered on her backside, watching the swaying of her hips. Anthony wanted to resist the temptation like any other responsible man would, he told his wife to take her back to her parents but his wife went on and on about how useful she was, her ability to do house chores well, and cook good food. “Cheta is well-behaved,” his wife had said. His wife said “well-behaved” like those elderly people who know nothing else about you, just that you walk alone on the streets, dress properly and greet them is enough to earn the title of a well-behaved child. Cheta is indeed well-behaved, enough to beg him when he locked the door that fateful day after asking her to come in and pull her clothes. “Please sir, I can do anything you want but not this.” Anthony was taken aback at her guts, the ability to tell him what she could and couldn’t do, and well-behaved enough to add “please”. It infuriated him and he landed her a slap which made her fall, he wanted to remind her that she was their maid, his maid. He has the right to tell her to eat faeces and she would obey because he feeds her and pays her parents in the village monthly salaries for her service. But he didn’t say a word, he lifted her from the floor and threw her on the bed. He undressed her roughly, his long fingers inflicting pain on her as they scratched her body. “You will tell no one of this, am I understood?” he asked. She nodded in tears, too tired to speak from his attack on her member. Anthony opened his eyes when she started wailing loudly in Igbo and saying “Nnem, bia zọpụtam (Oh my mother, come and save me)!” “Shut up!” he yelled and forced his sweaty singlet into her mouth to muffle her cries. He held her hands above her head and dug further into her body smiling devilishly to himself. Each thrust caused her more pain, filled her with hatred for him, and helped her nurse the desire to poison him. He felt fulfilled as he collapsed on her body, grunting as his fluid filled her up. He rolled off her and got up quickly. “Get up and go clean your body,” he commanded when he finally let her go. Cheta was lost for some seconds before she came to. She stood up slowly feeling her entire body on fire with tickling pain running through her abused female organ. She tried not to allow her thighs to rub against each other to avoid more pain so she walked with her legs apart. Anthony called her back to take the blood-stained sheet warning her to wash it before her madam returned. Her tears ran freely as she removed the sheet from the bed. This is her being asked to wash away the proof of her virginity which was taken away by a monster.  The world just lied to her, she knew it wouldn’t be easy but it never told her it would be this bad, she was being asked to cut her heart out and remain alive without it and to be silent. She didn’t say a word, she only nodded in agreement as usual in her well-behaved way. ****** “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” the woman from the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency asked. “You can have more time if you want.” “I am,” Cheta replied, her hands clasped together for warmth and support. “The recording will start immediately, and many people will see this, know you, and hear your story. Are you sure you’re ready for this to happen?” the woman asked again, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. “I am, “ Cheta repeated, this time more quietly. Her strength seemed to come from an unknown source. She had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, not thinking as she left the house through her room’s window to avoid the locked main door. Wearing her slippers would make her go out through the main hall and opening the door would wake someone up, so she decided to wear the only good shoe in her room, a wedged heel, and trekked the distance to the agency.  She didn’t want to think about life after speaking up, about people knowing she had been raped and abused repeatedly, or about her madam’s husband being arrested or fined; or her madam calling her a liar and slapping her in her usual way.  She looked every inch a mad woman, trekking in a nightgown and heeled shoes. Who cares anyway? She is ready to damn the world and all its standards. Anthony did it again after the first time. And then a second time too. He said he was getting addicted to her body and couldn’t control himself. He paid no attention to the fact that she no … Read more