Economy
The Peril of Screen Addiction Among Toddlers and the Roles of Parents to Prevent the Scourge
By Rotimi Onadipe
In today’s digital age, technology is an essential tool in our daily lives but when used excessively it may have negative impacts on the spiritual, emotional and physical wellness of users. It may also change the way the human brain processes information.
These dangerous signs are now manifesting among toddlers. Most children within age 1 to 3 are no longer interested in playing with other toys except screen devices e.g. laptop, iPad, iPhone, tablet etc. All they want is to sit down in front of a screen or click on any App that is available on the home screen of electronic devices.
Screen device is now the first thing they view in the morning and the last thing they view in the night before they go to bed. Many of them are addicted to gaming, watching videos or pornographic materials.
Compulsive use of screen devices e.g. computers, iPads, iPhones or watching videos among young children is a problem that can negatively affect their relationship with parents, academic performance or other aspects of their daily lives.
In most cases the faults are from parents because many parents now entertain their children, particularly toddlers with screen devices, not minding the side effects. Many of these young children are so addicted to screen devices to the extent that when they are denied access to these devices, they will cry and they won’t stop crying until they are given access to the devices.
The scourge of screen addiction among young children is a global challenge and it had caused a lot of incalculable damages to society.
For instance, a few years ago, there were several news reports of children, particularly minors that died after following the stunt they saw on the video games they were addicted to.
What are the warning signs that a child is addicted to a screen device?
- When the first thing a child views in the morning and the last thing he/she views before going to bed is a screen device.
- When his/her grades are dropping in school.
- Spending too much time with a screen device.
- Having no interest in other toys except screen devices.
- Feeling happy only when gaming or using screen device but feeling unhappy when he/she is denied access to screen device.
- When parents and family complain about the amount of time spent on screen devices.
- When a child complains of headache or neck pain regularly.
- When staying with screen device is the only thing that makes a child happy.
- When screen time interferes with other daily activities.
- When all efforts by parents to reduce the amount of time spent on screen devices prove abortive.
Lasting solutions to screen addiction among toddlers:
- All children should be educated about internet safety.
- Parents should encourage young children to meaningful screen use.
- Screen time should be limited to only weekends.
- Parents should supervise screen use.
- Parents should always organise real-life programs.
- Parents should delete all Apps that the children don’t really need on the devices.
- Parents should always turn off all screen devices belonging to children after use and keep them away from them until the next time they want to use them.
Rotimi Onadipe is the CEO of Onadipe Technologies, and National Coordinator of Internet Abuse Awareness & Prevention Project, Nigeria. He can be reached via +234-8169121819 or onatechconsult@gmail.com
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has called on foreign investors to consider Nigeria amid prevailing barrage of tariffs imposed by the United States, which he says may be a blessing in disguise for African countries.
Speaking during the Fireside Chat session on Foreign Direct Investment in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the Minister called on African countries to adopt an introspective approach by looking inward and adjusting their domestic policies to focus more on intra-African trade, with less dependence on external forces.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja, it was stated that the Minister’s remarks were part of his contribution to the discourse on the impact of the tariffs on Africa’s economic climate.
“The barrage of tariffs imposed carries wide-ranging implications for the global economy, U.S. trade relationships, and developing nations, including those in Africa,” he said.
He stressed the need need for African countries to organise economic imperatives to ensure a balance of trade and strengthen intra African trade among countries.
Mr Alake highlighted the persistent challenge faced by African countries, where rare mineral resources were exported without any value addition, noting that the old ‘pit-to-port’ model, where resources are extracted and sent out of the continent can no longer be allowed to continue.
“Interested investors, who wish to come into Africa are welcome to set up their factories in the continent, add value to our mineral resources and create jobs here, rather than just shipping our wealth out of our shores”, he stated.
The minister said that his stance on protecting Africa’s mineral wealth has been adopted by many African countries, particularly mineral-producing nations, where he served as the pioneering chairman of the African Minerals Strategic Group (AMSG).
He reaffirmed that Nigeria’s policy on mineral sector development remained strictly focused on value addition and boosting the local economy through job creation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Arnergy, a cleantech startup, has raised a $15 million Series B extension, on top of a $3 million B1 round last year, bringing its total for the round to $18 million to boost solar energy access in Nigeria.
According to TechCrunch, the new funding round was led by Nigerian private equity firm CardinalStone Capital Advisers (CCA) and saw participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures as well as British International Investment, Norfund, EDFI MC, and All On.
Launched in 2013, Arnergy was established to provide solar systems to homes and businesses across sectors like hospitality, education, finance, agriculture, and healthcare.
The firm raised a $9 million Series A in 2019 backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
The Lagos-based cleantech is in talks to raise additional local debt from banks and development financial institutions (DFIs) to support some of its projects including energy-as-a-service (EaaS) solutions for multinationals.
The cleantech is planning to install more than 12,000 systems by 2029 to help boost access to solar energy, which Nigerians have began to adopt increasingly following policy shifts, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies, that led to rise in energy costs.
Arnergy has so far deployed over 1,800 systems across 35 Nigerian states, totaling 9MWp of solar and 23MWh of battery storage.
Over the next four years, it will be targeting a 567 per cent increase to the set 12,000 systems goal.
According to the founder, Mr Femi Adeyemo, there has been increased adaptation of solar energy and this presents the perfect opportunity.
Its lease-to-own product, Z Lite, has gained more traction as customers pay fixed monthly fees over 5 to 10 years before owning the system while outright purchases comprised 60 per cent to 70 per cent of revenue in 2023, accounting for just 25 per cent of sales last year, as per TechCrunch.
“Imagine paying N200,000 (~$125) every month for power. With our product, that drops to N96,000 (~$60). Over five years, it’s a no-brainer what you’ll save,” Mr Adeyemo told the tech publication.
Recall that the federal government has also announced plans to ban importation of solar panels as part of efforts to boost local capacity. This has been projected to see a substantial increase in prices.
Speaking on this, Mr Adeyemo said, “We’re advocates for local manufacturing. But let’s build capacity before shutting the door on imports. Otherwise, we risk doing more harm than good, both to the industry and to the millions of Nigerians who now rely on solar as their primary energy source.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The total value of stocks at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange increased by 0.40 per cent or N9.21 billion to N1.919 trillion in the 15th trading week of 2025 from the N1.911 trillion it ended in Week 14.
The growth was mainly influenced by the inclusion of new shares of Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Plc (InfraCredit) to the trading platform in the week.
InfraCredit joined the alternative stock market on March 6 and last week, it brought addition 11.166 million equities, which increased its total securities at the NASD OTC exchange to 26.421 million units.
However, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) went down by 0.20 per cent or 31.89 points to 3,277.57 points from the 3,309.46 points it ended a week earlier.
In the week, the total value of trades ballooned by 29,234.5 per cent to N4.79 billion from the N16.3 million recorded in the previous week, and the total volume of transactions increased by 1,485.1 per cent to 171.4 million units from 10.8 million units.
The bourse recorded seven price losers led by Nipco Plc, which depreciated by 20.2 per cent to close at N199.00 per share versus N220.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc lost 2.5 per cent to finish at N22.70 per unit versus N25.21 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc shed 1.3 per cent to sell for N35.55 per share against the former value of N36.80 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc went down by 0.6 per cent to N17.80 per unit from N18.42 per unit.
Further, Geo-Fluids Plc slipped by 0.5 per cent to N2.00 per share from N2.48 per share, Acorn Petroleum Plc slid by 0.2 per cent to N1.17 per unit from N1.30 per unit, and InfraCredit Plc declined by 0.09 per cent to N2.34 per share from N2.43 per share.
On the flip side, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 0.4 per cent to N4.55 per unit from N4.14 per unit, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc expanded by 0.2 per cent to N2.63 per share from N2.80 per share, First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc appreciated by 0.04 to 62 Kobo per unit from 58 Kobo per unit, and Paintcom Investment Plc gained 0.02 per cent to end at N10.74 per share compared with the preceding week’s N10.72 per share.
The most active stock in the week by value was Okitipupa Plc with N4.6 billion, Paintcom Investment Plc recorded N190.9 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc traded N28.0 million, Nipco Plc transacted N3.5 million, and 11 Plc recorded N1.7 million.
Okitipupa Plc was also the most traded stock by volume with 152.1 million units, Paintcom Investment Plc transacted 17.8 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded 0.751 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded 0.356 million units, and Food Concepts Plc exchanged 0.180 million units.
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