The Periscope reporter
Socioeconomic activities are giving way to the occupied Coronavirus; businesses are declining, the graph is tilting down or as projected, Nigeria is heading towards its second recession.
While people have for the most part, resigned to a fate designed by WhatsApp chats Facebook and tweeter handle among other social media and other people to watching television to be fed with news of the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Some institutions and/or organisations are not giving way; are professionally resisting the occupancy of Coronovoris.
With the work at home, by means of observing social distancing, some academics adopt online video classes to engage their students in filling the gaps.
It will not be without without some technical challenges being the first experience, Prof. Moses Ochonu would explain; “My students and I worked through initial technical hiccups and after that we had a productive session.
The North East Commodity Association (NECAS) that brings farmers across the northeast Nigeria to thinking on how they could produce, feed the nation and export rather than import food commodities, would have to go technologically innovative against COVID-19 occasioned by the restrictions order to be able to accomplish their mission by holding meetings using a virtual or role-based method.
Virtual meeting or role-based conference is explained as a video conferencing mode for up to 800 participants where speakers are selected by moderator in real time.
Role-based conference participants may use audio replies and group chat or take polls in address book to provide their feedback at any time.
Being a new innovation, NECAS members will have to be made acquainted with it through training.
Having designed a template for the meeting, NECAS, Friday, hosted a virtual conference training for all its mechanisation managers, ICT handlers as partners across the northeast.
The NECAS national chairman, Alhaji Sadiq Daware is the initiator. He explained that role-based conference has become necessary consideration the condition COVID-19 has subjected people and economy into, globally.
“We’re in a precarious situation. Recall that following the COVID-19 recorded cases in some states of the federation, the federal government has declared a lockdown and restrictions orders in three states. Some states government have also declared a lockdown order as a measure of controlling the Coronavirus.
“Considering the fact that Coronavirus is a communicable disease, one of the protocols spelt out by the government is to observe social distancing; it is what brings the idea of a work at home.
“NECAS as a formidable commodity association of farmers, will not relent because farming can’t stop. The members have conceived that it would be devastating suspending farming.
“NECAS therefore needs to leverage on the technology for the virtual meeting to be able to forge ahead.
“Today we’ve witnessed a clear commitment, a demonstration of seriousness to move with the world.
“The is not limited to our mechanised managers, IT handlers and partners. It extends to our tractor operators with a view to providing efficient and effective mechanisation services for the 2020 wet farming calendar.
“The role-based conference provides the opportunity for us to interact with our members across the six states of the northeast, namely; Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states and Abuja office, to see how quickly we can start the land preparation process for the 2020 wet season.
“The process is on progress. We’re making a headway in this regard,” Daware said.
The participanting members have jointly commended Sadiq Daware the NECAS national chairman for the novel initiative, which eventually relaxed what Prof. Ochonu would describe as the initial anxiety–fear that members participation would be lacking; the teleconferencing would be boring and disappointedly, one person centred.
The exercise, was to say the least, highly impressive.
NEON