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Hello <<First Name>>,
Welcome to a new month, the last week of January was difficult with the deaths of prominent figures such as Clay Christensen and Kobe Bryant among others. It’s a new month and we take strength from the words of Kobe Bryant, “Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Now, The Stories for the Week.
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Regulation
No bikes here! We’re trying to build a Megacity, please
Having bikes and tricycles ride around Lagos has seemingly never been part of the plans to build this mega city hence, the Lagos State government has banned all activities of commercial motorcycles and tricycles in major part of the city including Apapa, Surulere, Lagos Island, Eti Osa, Ikeja and Lagos Mainland.
What could have informed this change?
Asides from reason stated in the image above.
Carelessness: Although they were initially banned from plying about 475 roads including high ways and bridges a year ago, yet over 1500 alleged accidents involving tricycles were reported across the State from 2015 till 2019 while over 70 died and 250 were injured so the state government says it cannot possibly fold its arms and watch the peace.
Traffic! can commuters ever cope?
You might be asking, can Lagos cope with more buses on its deteriorated and overused roads?
Apparently, according to the state government, yes commuters can cope. With millions of people out on the street of Lagos daily navigating through exhausting traffic situations, bikes have been saving lives all the time but the government promised to roll out more buses as alternatives. They are promising Lagosians won't even notice the changes.
How about those registered bike hailing companies?
@tosinolaseinde
Gokada, Max & ORide are not excluded from the ban but this new development might be beaching an initial agreement by the state government and hailing companies in the state.
How so?
Bike hailing companies in Lagos had reached an N25million registration fee agreement with the state transport authorities after the Lagos state traffic law banned bikes from 400 major roads back in 2019. They pretty much believed the ban won't affect them but then the state authorities make it clear that motorcycles and tricycles have never been in the plan for building a greater Lagos.
How does this affect you?
With so many people at risk of being out of a job, Lagos at risk of having more street touts Aka ‘Agberos’, the rate of crime in the state might escalate and even more scary, Lagosians will spend more time in traffic than they currently do.
Meanwhile, while Lagos is chasing these bike hailing companies, they are spreading their wings to other parts of Nigeria. Bolt (what we formerly call Taxify) has also launched their tricycle hailing services in Uyo, the capital city of Akwa Ibom. If they ever find their balance in the city, they will be competing with ORide, which has already gained an audience in the city, quite a competition we think.
The Way forward: Once again, this is where business meets politics, It’s time to lobby.
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Agriculture
Locust in East Africa: The Wrath of God?
There’s a massive swarm of locust active in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia and it’s threatening the food security of millions in Africa.
God is that you again?
As you’d expect, It’s not difficult to see why many people would interpret this plague as the wrath of God. However, we’d rather look at it through the lens of what we can explain, the plague being a result of both natural breeding cycles and human-made climate change. So no, it’s not God.
Care to explain further?
Sure! There’s been a recent heavy rainfall in Eastern Africa caused by the Indian Ocean Dipole (Rainfall patterns affected by irregular sea surface temperature), which is also the cause of the drought in Australia.
When Locusts encounter a period of heavy rains after a dry spell, the ordinarily solitary animals will band together and form swarms of millions of individuals that start migrating to take advantage of the suddenly abundant supply of food.
Why it matters
This plague is a threat to achieving Zero hunger, which is No.2 on the list of Sustainable development Goals.
The way Forward: In order to put this plague in check, The FAO is seeking $70 million voluntary contributions to jumpstart locust management and to assist people’s livelihoods in the three countries most affected. Whilst also warning that other countries such as Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Sudan and Uganda are at risk of being impacted by migratory swarms.
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Better than you think
Despite the headlines, fatal accidents involving aircrafts are rare.
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Business
How Netflix Performed in the last Quarter of 2019.
Revenue Made: $5.47 billion vs. $5.45 billion expected
Although Nextflix missed its forecast for U.S. subscriber growth (400k subscribers added vs 600k expected) for the third straight quarter, it beat its expectations for overseas expansion (8.3m subs added vs 7.1m expected). Netflix added ~8.7m subscribers in 3 months despite the advent of Disney+ and Apple TV.
Why is U.S subscriber growth slowing down?
Asides from shared Netflix accounts, it’s partly because the market is saturated; there’s less space for growth. Also, due to the recent hike in the price of the subscription fee for this market.
Something worth noting
Over the past 2 years, Netflix’s Gross profit (profit a company makes after deducting the direct costs associated with making and selling its products) has been increasing, while its negative free cash flow -- the cash left over after a company pays for its operating expenses and capital expenditures -- has been Increasing. $1.7B spent in Q4 of 2019
In simple terms: If it’s gross profit has been increasing while its cash flow has been increasing in negative terms. It means it has been spending more on capital (long term) expenditures.
Why so? Netflix is transitioning its business model from licensed content to self-published content, which means Netflix would own more of the shows on its site, rather bearing the costs upfront all at once instead of paying every year for shows based on how they perform or expected performance.
In the long run, Netflix owning most or all of its content instead of licensing it would increase the profitability of Netflix. Imagine Netflix not having to continuously pay for any show it has whilst users still pay a monthly subscription to watch its catalogue of shows.
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Quote 💭
This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.
Clay Christensen (American Professor and Author)
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Got a question about something you don’t understand from this newsletter? Ask us here
Written by Daniel Adeyemi and Bright Azuh.
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