INFORMATION PARALYSIS By Nonyerem Ibiam

I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog for some months now. Initially, I wanted to start blogging right away, but then I decided to surf the net for some information on how to start a blog; that, was a mistake. I was overwhelmed with so much information that I became… yes you guessed it; confused. Now, I know why.

In the good old days, looking for information simply meant walking into a library or looking things up in an encyclopaedia or a thesaurus. A new research into ‘Decision Science’ shows that people faced with a plethora of choices are apt to make no decision at all. This means when people are confronted with more information, they feel overwhelmed and opt out.

Before now, the conventional wisdom is that the more the information, the better the result. But the fact is that more information can be debilitating. In his book ‘The Art of Choosing’, Sheena Iyanga writes that when we make decisions, we compare bundles of information. So a decision becomes harder if the amount of information you have to juggle is greater.

Iyanga went on to point out that the ceaseless influx of information makes us to respond instantly, thereby sacrificing accuracy and thoughtfulness. Many employers have banned the use of any form of social media in the work place as many employees spend a lot of their working time receiving and responding to information. Those distractions often affect productivity.

Researchers point out that our brain is wired to notice change over stasis. An arriving email that pops to the top of your Black Berry is a change, and so does a new facebook post. When you let information come at you all the time, you are less likely to make a wise judgment. The research findings are particularly scary when you consider the effect of this kind of information bombardment on workers handling sensitive job roles that require full concentration and attention. Examples are doctors, drivers and pilots.

In the U.S, a study showed that many car accidents occurred as a result of distracted drivers sending or receiving text messages while driving.

So next time you want to embark on a research, remember that the fewer the better. Especially, if you do not want to get confused,

POLICE REFORMS By Nonyerem Ibiam

The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of one of the Northern States of Nigeria has made a call for police officers to undergo some kind of psychiatric examination every six months. The learned Attorney General made the call following incessant reports of police shooting of unarmed civilians.

In more civilized climes, the police force and other security agencies of the government are not an ‘all comers affair’. Applicants undergo serious physical, educational and physiological examinations before they are recruited.

This is predicated on the fact that it is dangerous to arm a man who lacks a certain level of educational, physical and physiological capacity.

Civic education is fundamental in the training of security agents and personnel. Without civic education, it becomes impossible for security agents to appreciate the fundamental principles underlining the roles and functions of government in a democratic and civilized society.

A police man who has undergone serious basic civic education will never raise his gun, talk less of shooting an unarmed civilian, because that will be tantamount to raising a gun and shooting your employer. Security agents, especially the police should understand that the people and not the politicians are their employers.

A situation where most of the rank and file of our police force are functional illiterates who do not understand their roles in a civil society will only lead to more chaos in Nigeria

We look forward to the total overhaul of the Nigerian Police Force from its foundations, if we ever hope to create an effective security agency that will protect the weak rather than serve as its chief tormentor.

YOUTHS; LIABILITY OR ASSET

For four days now, London and its environs have been engulfed in rioting, mostly by young people who are protesting the shooting by police of a youth in that metropolis.

The devastation so far is enormous. Looting is widespread, and over 800 people have been arrested.

This is not Africa or any third world country. This is England, a first class, civilized western nation where everything supposedly works.

This particular event has proven again that all human societies are the same. When young people are jobless and have little or no means of earning a decent livelihood or to be engaged in productive venture, any little spark will explode and expose the underlying frustration and disillusionment of that particular society

I cannot help but think what the scenario would have been if these riots happened in Nigeria. Of course there would have been a crackdown. The Armed Forces would have been called out; needless to say that many people would have lost their lives. In England, 3 people have died so far, not from police shooting (they were hit by a car).

Away from the riots for a moment, many young people in Nigeria still see traveling abroad as the only means of surviving. Just last week,  Italian coast guards discovered the bodies of over 30 young people from sub-Saharan Africa on a boat, many of them Nigerians, who died apparently from suffocation, trying to reach Europe.

Well, Europe is not a bed of roses. Ask ‘Weird MC’, who was a ‘nobody’ in London (I am sure she would have been among the rioters, if she was still there) until she decided to return to Nigeria where she found fame and fortune.

We’ve all watched with awe as the youths of the Arab world who’ve been denied their basic fundamental rights are rising and taking their country back from dictators who’ve suppressed them for so long.

The youths of a country can either be an asset or a huge time bomb waiting to explode. The youths are an asset if they are educated, empowered and opportunities created for them to contribute to the development of their societies. They become a time bomb if they’re neglected, suppressed and denied basic fundamental rights available to youths in other countries.

Is the huge youth population in Nigeria an asset or a time bomb? Well, you be the judge