By Wang Zheng, People’s Daily

In Jingzhou, central China’s Hubei province, humanoid robots developed by Chinese home appliance manufacturer Midea Group have joined the workforce at the company’s washing machine factory, performing inspection, equipment operation, and maintenance.

At the Hannover Messe, Germany’s leading industrial trade fair,collaborative robots developed by Shanghai-based JAKA Robotics were exhibited, demonstrating their ultra-precise control capability so delicate that they can gently grasp a potato chip.

Today, Chinese industrial robots are being applied across a wide range of industries with rapidly advancing capability. Driven by technological innovation, scenario-based applications, and artificial intelligence (AI), these machines are evolving from traditional mechanical arms into “all-rounders” capable of coordination, intelligent decision-making, full-process autonomy, and cross-industry adaptability.

At Midea’s Lyceem Lab – a Chinese national key lab for high-end heavy-duty robots – rows of orange KUKA six-axis industrial robots swing weights of various sizes as part of rigorous durability and lifespan testing.

“This is a comprehensive test ofrobotic endurance and reliability,” said Tuo Liheng, assistant director of the lab.

Since acquiring Germany’s robot manufacturerKUKA in 2017, Midea has ramped up research and development (R&D) investment in core technologies and critical components for heavy-duty robots, achieving many breakthroughs.

“Robot technology is now moving beyond traditional industrial applications and expanding into broader markets,” said Chen Feng, general manager of KUKA China’s enterprise business division. “In strategic industries such as high-end manufacturing, aerospace, energy, and healthcare, heavy-duty robots with high rigidity, precision, and reliability are becoming increasingly vital.”

Chinese companies are making significant strides in the heavy-duty robot sector. Estun Automation, an intelligent equipment manufacturer, has launched a 700-kilogram-payload industrial robot for use in heavy machinery, automotive, and construction materials sectors. The latest heavy-duty model launched by Chinese echelon industrial robot company EFORT Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd., another leading robotics firm, sold over 100 units in 2024. Meanwhile, Inovance, a Chinese provider of industrial automation components and solutions, has developed a six-axis robot capable of handling up to 220 kilograms of weight.

In a welding workshop of a heavy truck manufacturing base of Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd (GAC Group), six yellow Estun spot-welding robots operate in perfect coordination. Thanks to an optimized design and automated tool-switching system, each robot can seamlessly alternate between welding and handling, dramatically boosting efficiency while maintaining a 100 percent pass rate.

As one of the few Chinese companies with fully self-developed core components, Estun also provides customized solutions tailored to specific application scenarios. “Estun even granted us access to parts of its core control software,” said Du Shibin, head of the GAC facility. “We jointly developed optimization programs for the cabin welding line and shared intellectual property rights.”

In recent years, the application of industrial robots in China has continued to expand. Statistics show that China produced 556,400 industrial robots in 2024, up 14.2 percent year on year. According to the International Federation of Robotics, China installed over 276,000 new industrial robots in 2023, accounting for 51 percent of the global installations.

Following their widespread use in the automotive and electronics sectors, industrial robots are now gaining traction in emerging sectors such as new energy, sanitary ceramics, metal processing, and furniture and home appliance manufacturing, becoming key growth drivers for general-purpose industries.

Moreover, the deep integration of industrial robots with AI is further accelerating this transformation. Modern robots are increasingly capable of perceiving their environment, learning from real-time data, and making autonomous decisions. This has paved the way for flexible manufacturing and intelligent collaboration, significantly enhancing production efficiency and adaptability.

In a large overseas warehouse covering 20,000 square meters, 700 autonomous mobile robots developed by Geekplus, a Beijing-based global leader in mobile robotics technologies, zip across at speeds of two meters per second. Working in sync with 40 multifunctional workstations, they have completely disrupted the traditional “man-to-goods” logistics model. Shelves now move autonomously to workstations, where robotic arms accurately pick goods, and autonomous mobile robots(AMRs) deliver them along dynamically optimized routes. The warehouse processes over 350,000 items per day, with each workstation capable of handling up to 500 items per hour.

Geekplushas achieved significant breakthroughs in swarm intelligence control and dynamic path planning, enabling the simultaneous deployment of over 5,000 robots through a single system. It has also established more than 10 smart warehouse demonstration projects worldwide, each deployed with over 1,000 robots. The company is also collaborating with global manufacturing leaders like Siemens and CATL to advance intelligent logistics.

Looking ahead to the integration of AI and industrial robots, Chen Feng observed that China’s current industrial robot market sees annual sales of around 300,000 units. “Today’s commercial model still relies on customized development, professional installation, commissioning, and even on-site support,” he said. “But in the future, industrial robots will come equipped with built-in AI, ready to use straight out of the box. One-click installation and predictive maintenance will no longer just be market expectations – they will become standard features,” Chen explained

SIX COMMONLY MISAPPLIED SAYINGS AMONG HAUSA-SPEAKING COMMUNITIES AND THE PHENOMENA OF CORRUPTION, POVERTY AND

So much is being said regarding the current socioeconomic challenges bedevilling the the Northern part of the nation. They range from the too familiar crippling insecurity, the growing number of out-of-school kids, the (mis)understood “Almajiri” phenomenon, and the massive sea of unskilled and unskillable youths. All, underpinned by challenges of governance, capacity and vision.

Challenges of governance in the North is however just part of the equation. The other being the attitude of the governed born out of decades of bad governance and centuries of what sociologists call “socialisation process”. In the context, it is a process whereby “an individual’s standards, skills, motives, attitudes and behaviours change to conform to those regarded as desirable and appropriate for his or her present and future role in that engender in any particular society” through widely used clichés of culture, tradition and aspects of faith, in day to day interaction and communication.

Psychologists and sociologists posit that “we become what you think.” And what one says frequently and for a fact impact attitude in a fashion known as “language-attitude” connection or “talk-back”. A famous quote says “watch what you tell yourself, you are likely to believe it”. Another asserts that “words matter and the words that matter most are the ones you say to yourself.” Where the thoughts and talks are motivating and development, the actions so become. Spoken words (interpretation) have both negative and positive energies that shape life.

However, a lot of popular clichés across sections of the North do not seem to challenge individuals to rise up to the vagaries of socioeconomic conditions. Thoughts and words may have created a social disposition that doesn’t seem to imbue the spirit of persoal struggle, development and positive “worldview.”
Thus there is the need to reflect on the effects of some of these widely used catch-phases, clichés and adage with a view to minimising their inherent inappropriate connotations and negative consequences.

1. Allah Ya hana bincike: Literally, it means, curiosity is ungodly or that the Almighty prohibits investigation. Many take this injunction to mean turning a blind eye or never be curious towards inequities or wrong doings. This cliché and believe have seriously numbed many societies’ ability to smell corruption and impunity.

Living by this adage has afforded individuals with shaddy characters to manifest and thrive on corruption under the very watch of society as people are seldom held to account contrary to what the Almighty says to the effect that each and every soul should and shall be held accountable.

2. Idan mutum ba zai faɗi al’khairi ba, ya kame bakin sa: In literal sense it implies the need to say something good or shut your mouth. This injunction was aimed at promoting peace and harmony among communities. It has however been turned into condoning damaging character flaws. Society hardly, openly reprimands deviants for fear of infringement. Say something good about someone then shut your mouth. A phenomenon that has turned society into conspiracy of silence in most northern communities thereby enabling persons with moral deficits to have a field, contrary to most religious injunctions.
3. Bakin da Allah Ya tsaga ba zai hana shi abinci ba: God shall always provides is the import of this saying. As true as this assertion is, it’s misinterpretation has made communities to cultivate attitude of indolence. They treat education, innovation and skills acquisition with contempt. People literally wait for manna from the heaven and so hardly struggle to improve their lot. A disposition that is contrary to what the Almighty ordained that, “people should seek for them to find” (Man jaddah wa jaddah). Others, (non Muslims) say “no food for lazy man” (Proverbs 13:4, 20:13). And in corroboration, the Qur’an 53:39, says “Laisa Lil Insana Illa Ma Sa’a” (There is nothing for Man except what he strives for).The poor appreciation of these injunctions has left a large cross section of the North in a serious socioeconomic jeopardy of monumental proportion.
4. Bin na gaba bin Allah ne (unless): This statement seeks to promote loyalty towards leadership. It is however a conditional injunction based on the fact that the leadership is a “just” one (mai adalchi). Over time however it lost this context to mean “any leader” sort of. This development had turned people into blind followers of even corrupt and oppressive leaders in the North. People have systematically been divested of the capacity to hold their leaders (traditional and political) accountable thus enabling them (such leaders) to continously sustain a strangle hold on them, including choices.
5. Jarrabawa ne daga Allah: Simply put, it is a test/trial or a matter of Almighty’s destiny. Nothing is literally wrong with this belief. It however becomes self defeating when caution is thrown to the wind as found among many individuals of Northern extraction. Because the phrase has been interpreted upside down, it has often been cited to justify all forms of carelessness, excesses and outright stupid tendencies in the areas of safety, preventive health and other intrepid behaviour. When people fail to obey traffic lights/highway codes and are involved in accidents or get knocked down they still put blame on the Almighty as a trial or test. The very Almighty that has admonished them to be cautious and operate in moderation.

The misunderstanding of the phase “jarrabawa ce daga Allah” has led to serious and inherent character deficits among many communities in the North with enormous costs.

6. Allah swt Ya ba da dama or dama ce daga Allah: Here people are referring to their God given rights over things such as polygamy, the size of family especially number of kids etc. A lot of communities in Northern Nigeria jump at this “rights” without considering the conditions that come with them. One, for instance, is allowed to marry up to four and have a number of kids but on the condition that one will cater to their basic needs fully and also raise the kids with love and guidance as prescribed by the Almighty.

A larger preponderance of Muslims across the North simply discount the context of these rights and kept marryng and breading kids that they are incapable of taking care of. The consequences of these and other twisted understandings, including such phrases as “zafin nema ba ya kawo samu”, “abin sai addu’a” or “a koma ga Allah swt” (literally surrendering everything to the Lord) naturally manifest in growing incidence of poverty and disease in the society. People, most times invoke the phrases while making little or no effort to improve their lives by making use of God-given abilities. The resort to fate is usually employed as a escape route from reality, rather than as a measure of piety. This and similar mindsets have been partly responsible for the challenges of endemic poverty and social strife in Northern Nigeria.

The misinterpretations simply demotivate! They undermine the spirit of “do your best and leave the rest to Him; the Almighty” Therefore, the body of the Muslim clerics should come to the rescue of the Ummah (society) by preaching the true meanings of the phrases the less informed faithfuls use daily, but largely out of context.
A. G. Abubakar

By Milcah Tanimu

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Temitope Ilori as the new Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA). Dr. Ilori assumes the role as the first female to hold this position, commencing her initial four-year term on February 22, 2024.

The announcement was made by Toyin Aderibigbe, Head of Public Relations and Protocol of NACA, in a press statement issued on Thursday.

Dr. Ilori succeeds Dr. Gambo Aliyu, who served as the DG of the agency from June 2019 until February 2024.

Prior to her appointment, Dr. Ilori held positions as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Ibadan and a Consultant Family Physician at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

She holds an MBBS degree from the University of Ibadan and completed her residency training at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Dr. Ilori also holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Ibadan, and she is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Dr. Ilori’s areas of research interest include Primary Care, Immunization, Public Health Nutrition, Non-Communicable Diseases, and Women’s and Child’s Health. She has contributed extensively to policy formulation and strategic development, having served as the Commissioner for Health in Osun State, Nigeria, from 2011 to 2014, and as Chairperson of the Osun State Agency on Control of HIV/AIDS and the Osun State Technical Working Group on Immunization.

With over 30 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, Dr. Ilori brings a wealth of expertise and experience to her new role at NACA.