Of smart gadgets and thick users

YOU all probably know by now that Steve Jobs is no more. The man we credit with helping to transform the way we communicate today made good use of God’s gift; his brains. With his passing, the world has lost a genius. But he has left an indelible mark and we shall live to remember him many years to come.

In hindsight, our dear departed genius had no clue of the ills that his well intentioned inventions would sire, compliments to the debilitated nature of the human species, especially in these dark parts of the woods. While he used his gifted brain to the fullest, it seems like he left no room for a section of young people today to do the same.

With his inventions, he has made life so easy that people no longer need to belabor their minds anymore; he has already done that for us. And so the problem here is not with the inventor but rather the users, or abusers, of his inventions.   

Back in the days when there were no gadgets to do things for people, hard, physical labor was the norm. Here is a tale of an ordinary day in the years of yester. After waking up early in the morning and wiping the cold out of the eyes, they would light a fire, prepare some porridge or whatever-have-you and, on a full stomach, they would set off to till the land with a hoe or herd livestock. 

At times they would work on the land from sundown till sunset. That alone gave them the much needed physical strength. The proverbial survival of the fittest was very much in practice then. Only the strong excelled. 

Tell that tale to the young and free souls of today and they will probably ask you; what’s a hoe? We have come to that. Because of the i-things and other smart gadgets young people today have lost interest in the most ordinary of things that kids ought to enjoy doing.

Sports and outdoor games that demand physical strength have been relegated to activities for poor children. Kids of the affluent stay indoors and play video games or surf the internet or they’ll just be entertained by one of the i-gadgets. Perhaps we ought to be grateful that we still have plenty of poor folks in our corner!

But the most tricky, and troubling, part is the way these smart gadgets are being used. Many youths have failed to make smart use of the smart devices. Worse yet, availability of technology at the tip of the fingers seem to have slowed their thinking processes and intellectual capabilities. 

And one can’t help but doubt if this was part of Mr Jobs’ intended outcomes of his inventions. It’s even sad to note that it’s not only young people who do not make the most of today’s technological advances. There some people of advanced age who have utterly failed to benefit intellectually from the smart era.

But people of advanced age are slowly phasing out, not that I am a doomsday advocate, it’s just that that is the natural order of things. The way young people do not see that they can do better with what the world has to offer is cause for concern.

They are slowly losing interest in sports and outdoor games, they have become too attached to their gadgets they no longer visit one another, and the most undemanding domestic chores have become insurmountable tasks at home for them. 

You can’t even ask a kid to get you a glass of water these days, lest you get a scorned look! The reason for the bad look would probably be because you might have comprised their chances of winning in some virtual reality game by sending them for a drink.

Instead of sharpening their brains, these gadgets seem to have dulled some young minds. The internet is not used for enhancing knowledge or seeking useful information but trivial things or worse, like accessing pornography. This is sad but true, like the discovery of diamonds and oil, advances in technology may as well be a curse to us than a blessing. 

And it’s because we just have a penchant for abusing any well intentioned finding. Whenever some smarter guy than us makes a step forward for the good of the world, we seem to slide backwards into some sort of deep hole. 

And here is a worst case scenario. I happened to have told a young lad, who also happened to have been using one of the many varieties of the i-gadgets founded by the genius who is no more, that Steve Jobs is dead. He looked up at me and cheekily asked; who’s Steve Jobs? There you have it!

kmtambalike@yahoo.com

Counting the costs of piracy

EARLY in the week suspected Somali pirates attempted a daring attack on a gas and oil exploration vessel off the coast of Mtwara. The attack was thwarted by security forces, the pirates were arrested and damage was averted.

But the attack should serve as a wakeup call. The pirates have shown a certain determination to expand their areas of operations on the high seas, exposing marine security to new challenges. The fact that they could sail some 2,000 miles southwards says a lot in itself.

These are no average criminals; they seem to be good at keeping their information. They did not come all the way to Mtwara to simply try their luck, they knew exactly what they wanted and they were determined to get it.

What they did not expect, perhaps, was the fact that security would have been bolstered in the country's territorial waters. The response by security organs to the attempted attack is commendable and it might serve as a warning against any future attempts of piracy.

There are some quarters that have been labelling the pirates as some poor fishermen in search of catch. That is by no means a befitting description of the most coveted modern day criminals in the high seas. These guys are highly sophisticated.

They simply do not care what happens to the people they attack and they are driven by greed and lust for wealth. The recent attempt off the coast of Tanzania is clear testimony that they did not drift all the way from Somalia, the attack was well planned and orchestrated. 

It would be an intelligence fallacy and extremely naive to brush these guys off as some lucky-go happy gun totting poor fishermen who just happen to rob ships they come across by accident. It is misplaced justification to claim that they do what they do because they are poor and have no central government in their country and people do as they please in their territorial waters.

In his address to the 66th United Nations General Assembly recently, President Jakaya Kikwete expressed concern about the problem of piracy in Tanzania's territorial waters. He noted that the problems of piracy still linger on and is expanding.

The president said that there are now increased pirate attacks taking place as far South from Somalia to as far as Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar and that since last year, when piracy activity moved south into our territorial waters 13 ships have been attacked 5 of them were hijacked.

These attacks have caused an increase in the cost of shipping. Failure at stopping the attacks they may disrupt shipping services and impact negatively on the country's economy. The seriousness of the problem was also summed up by the Minister for Transportation, Omari Nundu, when  presenting his ministry's budget estimates for the 2011/12 financial year in August.

He said that piracy is a serious problem in our territorial waters because it has not only led to increased transport costs but has also scared off tourist cruise ships and cargo ships from sailing to Tanzania. In general, piracy will lead to grave consequences in the not so far future.

As the president clearly put it, Tanzania needs the support of the international community to help build capacity to fight piracy. He also said that the country welcomes any readiness to assist in improving courts and prisons to try and punish pirates. If simply a gesture was extended to build capacity to prevent attacks there would be fewer incidents of piracy or none at all.

It is important to note that the vessel that was attacked by the pirates was a gas and oil exploration ship. It is understood that a country like Tanzania needs such investors and such incidents may easily scare off the said investors. 

On the one hand, it is the duty of the state to safeguard interests of investors, and the quick response demonstrated by security organs early in the week may suffice to build confidence amongst investors. It goes to show that Tanzania is capable to fight piracy and can do better given the necessary capacity.

On the other hand, investors who have crucial interests in the country's territorial waters should also see the need to assist in building the capacity to ward off piracy. That would be a win-win situation as their interests would be secured and the country would have bolstered security in its waters.

The threat of piracy is no longer imaginary, it is real and it is time that we enhance capacity of the country's navy as well as marine police to enable them patrol our waters and fight piracy. We might not see it yet, but piracy has the potential of having far reaching consequences if left unchecked.

kmtambalike@gmail.com

Igunga, minus the electorate, is on everyone’s mind

ALL roads lead to Igunga today as they go polls. So much attention has been directed to the Igunga constituency by-election unlike any other before it. For many outsiders, it is hard to believe that all the shenanigans are just for a parliamentary seat.

The way supporters of the three main candidates are fighting tooth and nail makes it seem as though there so much at stake here than what we are made to believe. I can’t tell why but I feel like there will be more than the usual finders’ keepers, losers’ weepers situation in Igunga.

By every definition of the phrase, campaigns for the by-election started on a high note. High profile figures launched the campaigns for their parties. Former president Benjamin Mkapa did the honors for his party (CCM) while the Zanzibar Second Vice President, Seif Sharif Hamad, did the same for CUF.

After curtains were raised by high profile figures, it was turn for the ‘little known’ to make their presence felt as well. And so high profile incidents of lawlessness ensued. The first to receive prominence was that of a young man believed to be a supporter of CCM being splattered with acid by purported Chadema supporters.

The young man is said to be in hospital until now receiving treatment. And many other unprecedented incidents followed. You know have stooped so low when national leaders start to encourage supporters to assault a district commissioner. This, again, happened in Igunga during campaigns for today’s polls.

Then there was an incident where another national leader, a renowned MP for many reasons, took to the stage during a campaign rally while armed. While he was at it, somehow someway he simply failed to conceal his weapon. It really makes one wonder what he was trying to prove to the crowd or authorities.

To cut a long story short, there are reports of bullets blazing in Igunga, people getting attacked by machetes and MPs being questioned and some taken to court. When you look at all the incidents, they bear a common feature; violence.

As for the young man who is still living in agony, I bet he is regretting why he got himself in the campaigns. He is hurt so bad there are fears that he might lose his sight altogether, and all that but for what?

After the by-election today, we pray life is going to go back to normal in Igunga, and perhaps even better to the winner and others who have something to gain from all this. But not to the young man and perhaps many others who might end up in prison or remain fugitives for years.

The fact that the DC is a woman and a Muslim angered many Muslims because during the assault she was stripped off her veil. Uncovering a Muslim woman in public constitutes a serious offence in Islam. Consequently, such an incident may only stir settled waters leading to unnecessary unrest.

For the MPs who encouraged their followers to assault the DC, what signals are they sending out to the public? That in politics, it is okay to be violent and intolerant when it suits you? What happened to the DC was a shameful act to both her person and the government since she is a presidential appointee. A worthy opponent would have been savory enough to extend a public apology.

What with the MP who addressed a rally with a pistol hanging on his waist, or the whereabouts? Again, he too was sending many wrong messages. Would it be wrong if we start thinking that he was intimidating the public to vote for the candidate of choice?

Most importantly however, it is the role played by authorities in Igunga that has led to the campaigns being marred by a little of violence and other unpleasant incidents. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has been too lax in taking action. What would have happened if NEC had decided to call off the by-election until after all parties behave themselves?

One retired police commander also placed the blame on some officers. During campaigns, he noted, police officers should focus on maintaining public peace, safety and security and not harbor other interests that would hamper intelligence gathering. That way they would easily be able to avert incidents of violence before they happen.

The transgressions in Igunga only go to show that as a constituency, it is on the mind of all political players vying for the vacant seat. But is anyone thinking about the electorate, the people who should matter the most? I doubt that, but well, well. They are going to vote today all the same.