IPv6 Council advocates speedy adoption in Nigeria, visits Danbatta

ITRealms:

The Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) Council Nigeria, has stressed the need for speedy adoption of the protocol in the country, reports ITRealms.

The Council Chairman, Mr. Muhammed Rudman made this call in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta at NCC Headquarters on Thursday the 15th of September, 2016.

According to him, the world of Internet is going out of Internet Protocol version Four (IPv4) addresses, this is a fact as Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has allocated the remaining eight IPv4 address blocks to each of the 5 Regional Internet Registries (RIR) namely AP-NIC, RIPE-NCC, AFRI-NIC, ARIN and LACNIC since 2011.

He explained that the new Internet Protocol (IPv6) will open a pool of Internet addresses that is a billion-trillion times larger than the total pool of IPv4 address which is about 4.3 billion, pointing out that this means the number of IPv6 addresses is virtually inexhaustible for the foreseeable future.

This, he noted would address the need of the ever expanding world population, the growth of the domain name system due to the opening of the new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and the emerging Internet of Things (IoT).

Rudman also said that IPv6 preserves everything good in today's Internet, and much more, such as stateless auto-configuration, seamless mobility, automated network management, end to end security and new optional service levels.

He equally said most of the developed world has already embraced IPv6, with countries competing for positions in the global ranking on IPv6 adoption, lamenting that Nigeria is lacking so far.

"Unfortunately, most of the African countries are late on this mass migration, with Nigeria particularly lagging behind even within Africa, this should not be taken lightly considering that we have the largest number of Internet users in Africa and the seventh in the world. For example, out of the 103 Autonomous System Numbers registered in Nigeria only 4 are live on IPv6, even the 4 are not propagating it properly on the net. It is noteworthy to mention that over 30 organisations have acquired IPv6 from AfriNIC but most of them are not using it," he said.

Rudman who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) disclosed that major content producers such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft have all adapted IPv6 giving the opportunity to IPv6 networks access to their contents.

He listed some of the challenges identified for the lack of IPv6 adoption in Nigeria to include lack of the required technical skills, Core, Metro and Edge equipment compatibility issues,  lack of IPv6 upstream service providers most service providers do not understand the business case for the migration among others.

Rudman, who was accompanied by the council vice chairman, Mr. Chris Uwaje, Mrs. Mary Uduma, member and chairman of the Communications and Advocacy Committee (CAC) of the council, Mr. Remmy Nweke, said that to address some of these challenges, the IPv6 Council Nigeria has perfected plans to commence free regular trainings to organisations and individuals interested in IPv6, registration for such trainings have already commenced via the council’s website.

"We hope that these training would expose the participants with right set of skills to assist their various organisations migrate to IPv6 so that Nigeria can occupy its rightful position in the global IPv6 readiness," he said.

Rudman reiterated the Council's commitment to the advancement and promotion of IPv6 best practices and lessons learned in Nigeria, with a mission to provide technical leadership and innovative thought for the successful integration of IPv6 into all facets of networking and telecommunications infrastructure, present and future.

To promote IPv6 awareness, he said the Council recently inaugurated the Communications and Advocacy Committee, made up of veteran ICT journalists as its members.

In his remarks, EVC Danbatta assured the Council of NCC’s to encourage telcos to key into IPv6 deployment in the country and through facilitation of capacity building workshops, pointing that it may be difficult to identify all the challenges hindering IPv6 adoption in Nigeria.

Danbatta was optimistic that the Commission will work with the Council on strategic plans which must involve the stakeholders, stressing that the Council constitution is timely and will grow adoption as well as usage of IPv6 in the country, in addition to putting in place the legal guidelines to ensure companies in the sector and beyond buy into the initiative.

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Pix: Courtesy Visit: The EVC of NCC Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta (middle); to his right is member of the council, Mrs. Mary Uduma and his left, IPv6 Council Chairman, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, vice chairman, Chris Uwaje and chairman of Communications and Advocacy of the council, Mr. Remmy Nweke flanked by some management staff of NCC during a courtesy visit to EVC Danbatta in Abuja on Thursday, September 15, 2016.

Chibok girls release: Lai Mohammed outlines efforts by PMB

ITRealms:

The Federal Government has outlined efforts made by the President Mohammadu Buhari administration to secure the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted from their school in April 2014 by Boko Haram, reports ITRealms.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave this outlines on Friday while briefing press on the efforts which included swap arrangements dating back to July 2015, however, failed for various reasons, including last-minute issuance of a new set of demands by Boko Haram elements.

Special Assistant to Hon Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Segun Adeyemi quoted him as saying that in spite of the failure of the past swap agreements, the government and the security agencies have not relented in the bid to ensure that the Chibok girls are released safely, in line with the mandate given by the President who, upon the assumption of office, directed security agencies to urgently fashion out strategies to trace, locate and ensure the safe and successful release of the Chibok girls.

Giving details of the first swap agreement, which was the most promising, Alhaji Mohammed said it failed in the last minute because Boko Haram decided to make a new set of demands, even after all arrangements had been made to exchange some Boko Haram fighters for the girls.

''Precisely on 17th July, 2015, the DSS opened negotiations process with the group holding the Chibok girls. However, in return for the release of some of these girls, the group also made some demands. These included the release of some of their fighters arrested including some involved in major terrorist actions, resulting in several fatalities, and others who were experts in manufacture of locally assembled explosives. This was difficult to accept, but appropriate security agencies had to again inform Mr. President of these demands, and its viewed implications. Again Mr. President gave his assent believing that the overall release of these girls remains paramount and sacrosanct.

''Meanwhile, following the above development, Government and the security agencies had sufficient leverage to work out the modalities of the swap. These included creating the safe haven, or necessary place of swap and working out the logistic details. Based on this, the DSS availed other critical sister agencies of this new situation. Immediately, the Nigerian Army and the Air Force sent some specialists to commence a detailed arrangement for the swap. This was during the last week of July 2015 and 1st week of August 2015. The officers representing the various agencies worked out the logistic details, such as the number of persons to be swapped i.e. number of girls and detainees to be exchanged, the vehicles and aircraft, as well as safeguards, i.e. safety of the persons, including the location of the swap.

''When it was finally agreed by all parties, Mr. President was again informed that the preparations were concluded, and the  first step for the swap would commence on 1st August, 2015. Mr. President robustly gave his approval. On 4th August, 2015, the persons who were to be part of the swap arrangements and all others involved in the operation were transported to Maiduguri, Borno State. This team, with the lead facilitator, continued the contact with the group holding the Chibok girls. The Service was able to further prove to the group its sincerity, as it established communication contact between it and its detained members.

''All things were in place for the swap which was mutually agreed. Expectations were high. Unfortunately, after more than two (2) weeks of negotiation and bargains, the group, just at the dying moments, issued new set of demands, never bargained for or discussed by the group before the movement to Maiduguri. All this while, the security agencies waited patiently. This development stalled what would have been the first release process of the Chibok girls,'' he said.

The Minister also gave the details of two more swap attempts that were made following the failure of the first agreement.

''By the month of November, precisely 13th November, 2015, another fresh negotiation process with the group was initiated. This time, there was the need to discuss a fresh component in other to avoid issues that had stalled the former arrangement. There were however some problems that many may not discern, but should be expected in this kind of situation. Some critical persons within the group who played such vital role in August, 2015 were discovered to be dead during combat action or as a result of the emerging rift amongst members of the group then. These two factors delayed the process.

''By 30th November, 2015 it was becoming glaring that the division amongst the group was more profound. This affected the swap process. By 10th December, 2015, another negotiation process was in place, but this failed to achieve results because of the varying demands by the group,'' he said, assuring that in spite of the failures, negotiation continued on new modalities to secure the release of the girls.

The Minister said since the beginning of 2016, the security agencies have not only remained committed but have also taken the lead to resolve the Chibok girls’ issue, in spite of the current division among members of the terrorist group, which has seriously affected the efforts

He commended the security agencies whom, he said, have sacrificed their time and energy, with some even paying the supreme price while fighting for the safe release of the girls, disclosing that many friendly countries and organizations have equally been very forthcoming in providing their human and technological resources to assist in the process.

Addressing the parents and relatives of the Chibok girls, Alhaji Mohammed said: ''We are with you; we feel your pains and shall not relent until we succeed in bringing home our girls and every other citizen abducted by the group.''

He also appealed to ''all those who have shown concern in resolving this matter'' to continue to trust the efforts of Government to deal with the situation.

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Pix: Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, flanked by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Ayo Adesugba, Special Assistants Segun Adeyemi and Williams Adeleye and Director in the Ministry Peter Dama, at a press conference addressed by the Minister in Abuja on Friday

FG stimulates economy with N350 billion capital vote

ITRealms:

In sticking with earlier promise on capital projects, the Federal Government has said it stimulated the economy with the immediate release of the sum of N350 billion capital votes to tackle the economic crisis currently facing the Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Affirming this to ITRealms, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun disclosed this during a press meeting in Abuja on Friday, saying the current administration is not backing down on its decision to stimulate the economy.

“With the N350 billion to be released, next week, the federal government would have released the total sum of N770 billion for capital projects this year, having released N420 billion thus far in 2016,” she said. explaining that the bulk of the money so far released went into on-going projects, especially works, defence, transportation, interior, power and agriculture.

In addition, the minister disclosed that the administration was working on raising $1 billion Eurobond, stressing that the proceeds for this would be used only for capital projects.

Giving further clarifications on the Eurobond issue, Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, said, “We intend to raise the money before the year ends. In terms of the progress made so far, more than five weeks ago we put out advertisements for Request For Proposals in local and international media, following due process so that we can allow transaction partners who are interested to compete. 

“The closing date of the RFPs is September 19, 2016 and immediately after that we will execute the process of vetting and selection. “We have a directive to make sure we use minimum time to conclude all these activities. So we assure you that we are going to cut the time because of the emergency situation. Before the middle of December, we will have the money. We are very focused on the fact that these monies are needed urgently to turn around the economy and we are working on that," Adeosun said.

On the issue of bidding process and open procurement, the minister explained that what is needed is a balance between speed and transparency, saying that is why we are engaging the National Assembly to support our request to truncate the process.

“We are already talking to members of the National Assembly, explaining to them why this is necessary so that when we release money, it is not just going to be sitting in the TSA account but it will actually be going down into contractors and appropriately utilised,” she said.

Ayo Omidele/GEE

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Best practices drive interoperability of digital financial services

ITRealms:

The latest study by the International telecommunications Union (ITU) focus group has revealed that access to payments infrastructures and national payments systems drive digital financial services, reports ITRealms.

ITU also said that the interoperability enables users worldwide to make electronic payment transactions with any other user regardless of their service provider – in a convenient, affordable, fast, seamless and secure way via a single transaction account.

ITRealms noted that this remains a challenge in some of the world's poorest countries where very few mobile payment schemes are truly interoperable. Yet, with as many as 2 billion people globally being either un-banked or underbanked, interoperability is a critical factor in the drive to achieve global financial inclusion.

Consequently, interoperability is a key work stream within the ITU's Focus Group on Digital Financial Services, established to develop and disseminate best practice guidelines for policy and decision makers, operators and providers in the digital financial services sector.

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, said the challenge can be quite complex involving a number of different entities. Today, we have published two reports to help address these interoperability challenges. We want to encourage the development of competitive payment systems that deliver fair access to their services.  We also want to see national payment systems driving collaboration and innovation to benefit a broader range of stakeholders.'

He equally said the first report, analyses access-to-payment-infrastructure issues around the world, and how these can affect the development of safe, efficient, interoperable and financially inclusive payment services. 

The report focuses on non-banks that are playing an increasingly important role in payments, including the provision of payments services directly to end-users. Yet, despite their increasing importance in helping to address financial inclusion, many are still not accepted as direct participants of key payment infrastructures. This often leads to limited interoperability in the services/products they can offer.

The report concludes that if a payment services provider (PSP) adheres to international standards and best practice, and establishes risk-based and objective access criteria, non-banks should be able to join as a direct participant.

Sacha Polverini, Chairman of the Focus Group and Senior Programme Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Financial Services for the Poor programme, said: 'Payment system regulators and policy makers, in particular Central Banks who typically act as the lead payment system overseer in each country, can better support the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population by promoting a competitive and dynamic payment services industry which includes non-traditional providers'.

The second report, 'Cooperation frameworks between Authorities, Users and Providers for the development of the National Payments System', analyses the role and cooperation process of key stakeholders in the development of national payment systems (NPS), in particular of retail payments. 

NPS have been designed in many countries to increase the overall efficiency of payment systems and to promote financial inclusion. However due to the many different stakeholders involved and the complex nature of NPS, the development of such frameworks can be challenging. This report has therefore identified the role public and private sector actors can play as well as discussed the structure of these cooperation frameworks in order to advance financial inclusion globally.

These reports are the first outputs produced by the Working Group on Interoperability.  They follow six reports which were published earlier this year that focussed on the DFS ecosystem, consumer protection, and on technology, competition and innovation. The Focus Group will publish its remaining results throughout the rest of the year to complete its roadmap.  Its next global meeting will be hosted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between 19 – 22 September 2016. 

Fraud alert on blackmailer, Benjamin Joseph by Zinox

Commentary@ITRealms:

Our attention has been drawn to an on-going campaign of calumny by serial blackmailer, Mr. Benjamin Joseph, an indigene of Enugu State and purported owner of an Ibadan-based Technology Company, Citadel Oracle Concept, against the Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh which he has taken to the domain of Premium Times after other online and print media houses who confirmed his story as false refused to publish in a matter concerning a subject of criminal proceeding against him.

Contrary to his long-drawn campaign of calumny, threats to life and series of blackmail attempts against our Chairman, Mr. Joseph was charged to court by the Police for false information on Charge Number CR/216/16 before the FCT High Court, Abuja after forensic evidence showed that a Board Resolution bearing his signature which he claimed to have been forged was actually his.

Interestingly, Mr. Joseph had never met with our Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh nor transacted any business with Zinox Telecoms or Zinox Technologies Ltd.  Our Chairman has also never met him in person or even spoken with him on the phone. If Joseph has any evidence of such meeting let him make it public. Mr. Joseph is only bent on spreading falsehood and spurious allegations in a bid to blackmail our Chairman to call him for negotiations to stop the blackmail.

The truth is that the complaint arose from a business transaction between Citadel Oracle Concept Limited (Mr. Joseph’s company) their appointed staff/representatives, (Princess Kama and Chief Igbokwe), when they won a contract for the supply of HP laptops to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Having no funds to execute the contract, his appointed staff/agents approached one of our sister companies, Technology Distributions (an authorized HP distributor and the biggest ICT distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa) to supply them the laptops on credit pending payment by FIRS.

In view of previous bad experience and in order to avoid exposing the business to bad loans, it is our normal business practice that if a client is taking products on credit for onward contractual supply to a customer, staff of Technology Distributions would have to be signatories to an account opened for the purpose of disbursement of funds as regards the contract. This is the only security for the laptops supplied on credit. 

This was how our staff, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims and Mrs. Shade Oyebode became signatories to the account, but nowhere did they represent that they were directors of Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd. If Mr. Joseph has evidence to the contrary let him produce it. Immediately the contract was executed and payment effected by the FIRS, Technology Distributions simply deducted the pre-agreed invoice sum of the laptops and had its staff resign as signatories to the said account. This was the same procedure/process applied to other customers who had similar contract with FIRS for the supply of similar HP laptops at same time.

It is interesting to note that problem only started when Mr. Joseph could not agree on the profit sharing formula with his appointed agent/representative, Princess Kama. It was then that he reported the case to the SFU for investigation. The question is: if he was paid the money he was asking for after the contract was executed and at various meeting in the chambers of Afe Babalola & Co., would he have now alleged fraud?

Mr. Joseph reported the case to EFCC and the Special Fraud Unit of the Police in Lagos and then, the Force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters in Abuja and the matter eventually got to the office of the former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. Subsequently, a detailed investigation was conducted into the matter.

Since the crux of the matter was the denial by the complainant (Mr. Joseph) of not signing the Board Resolution to the account with which the FIRS remitted payment for the supplied HP laptops, the Police sent the documents for forensic analysis to determine its veracity. The evidence proved that the documents were actually signed by him.

In the light of this, the Police discovered that the issue was indeed a civil case between Mr. Joseph and his representatives, Princess Kama and Chief Onny Igbokwe who obtained the HP products from Technology Distributions on credit. The disagreement between the trio led to Mr. Joseph petitioning the Police that his signature was forged to execute the contract.

Based on the discovery that the said documents were not forged and the computers were deliver to FIRS, the Police charged Mr. Joseph to court with Charge Number CR/216/16 before the FCT High Court, Abuja. This case is still pending against him. Interestingly, in the series of publications he has continued to sponsor against the Chairman, Mr. Joseph has never mentioned why he was charged to court by the Police i.e. that the forensic report showed that he signed the documents he is denying.

The Police report also absolved our staff – Chris Eze Ozims, Folashade Oyebode and Charles Adigwe of any complicity in the matter as money withdrawn by TD was legitimate proceeds of HP laptops supplied to Citadel Oracle Concept through the company representatives for onward transmission to FIRS and the FIRS acknowledged receipt of the laptops.

Recognizing that the game was up, Mr. Joseph petitioned the office of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo SAN who did not know character, that our company Technology Distributions, Chief Igbokwe and the FIRS were in collusion to defraud the Federal Government of over N200m, alleging that the HP laptops were never supplied. The Vice President duly forwarded the petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation.

We are aware the Commission had carried out a detailed investigation and in the process, conducted searches at the FIRS office, confirmed for the third time that the laptops were indeed supplied and receipted by the FIRS and their serial numbers noted.

It is worth reiterating here that the aim of Mr. Joseph is to tarnish the image of our Chairman to extort money as he has repeatedly boasted of having dealt in like manner with bigger public figures.

We have refrained from going public with this matter because the facts are subjudice based on a pending civil case at the Lagos State High Court with suit number LD/4335/14 and the Criminal Proceeding with Charge Sheet Number CR/216/16 before the FCT High Court, Abuja.

Again, we are waiting for the EFCC to apply the machinery of the law in bringing Mr. Joseph to justice based on the false petition to the office of the Vice President, just as the Police did by charging him to court on false and/or misleading information.

*Contributed by Gideon O. Ayogu, Head, Corporate Communications, Zinox Technologies Ltd.

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ISOC warms up for 2016 InterCommunity call

ITRealms:

The Internet Society (ISOC) has advanced plans to host its 2016 InterCommunity call on September 21, reports ITRealms.

The InterCommunity call avails ISOC to gather members across the globe to discuss Internet access, trust and governance challenges and how stakeholders could make a difference.

According to Ted Mooney, ISOC is offering three global sessions, each featuring different speakers and topics.

Members are invited to join guest speakers which include Dr. Jun Murai who would be at the global session 1; Dorcas Muthoni in global session 2; and Lawrence Strickling in global session 3, as well as Internet Society trustees, experts and members.

Mooney also said that online participants could connect to InterCommunity from anywhere; all they need is an Internet connection and a computer, even as they could join with other Internet Society members at a node in their areas. 

The session 1, Mooney explained is targeted at the Asia Pacific, while session 2 would focus on Europe, Africa and Middle East, whereas session 3 is for Americas with each session having both regional and global session within two hours intervals.

Internet Society Board Chair, Gonzalo Camarillo, says the InterCommunity is to help build a world that supports everyone’s right to use the Internet to share knowledge, innovate and get their voices heard.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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For standards sake, Uber introduces driver deactivation policy in Africa

ITRealms:

In effort to keep high standards, Uber has introduced driver deactivation policy across the continent of Africa, reports ITRealms.

Uber Communications officer for Africa, Samantha Allenberg, confirmed this to ITRealms noted that the  higher the quality of the service, the more riders want to take trips, which in turn means more opportunities for drivers to earn money.

The goal of Uber, Allenberg said, is to provide reliable, affordable and safe transportation, which could only happen if there is trust on all sides; where riders feel safe with their driver and where drivers feel safe transporting their passengers.

Pointing out that it was easy to work with the first handful of drivers when Uber first launched in South Africa in 2013, but as we have launched more cities and grown in popularity across Africa, hence it is important that every driver using Uber app understands the processes and communicates in a consistent and transparent manner.

ITRealms gathered that sometimes Uber has to restrict a driver’s access to the app, but when that happens, even for a short period of time, it affects their earnings, therefore the company finds it extreme important to make its policy clearer.

Further ITRealms  reports that the Driver Deactivation Policy was designed with the best interests of drivers and riders in mind. According to Allenberg, it covers, among other items, issues that relate to quality, fraud, safety and discrimination.

On quality, Uber explained that the higher the quality of the service, the more riders want to take trips, which in turn means more opportunities for drivers to earn money. After every trip, riders and drivers rate each other with a star rating out of five - if that score is consistently low there is a problem. We also consider how regularly drivers cancel trips after accepting a booking as this leads to a poor experience for riders.

Uber decried fraud, describing it as bad for any business, so to keep riders coming back and to keep drivers driving, it’s important that services are fair and honest. That includes drivers understanding it is unacceptable to intentionally increase the time or distance of a trip.

Safety, Uber reiterated on both riders and drivers, includes respecting each other's privacy - so not contacting each other except through the Uber app - and obeying the laws of the road.

Uber also warned it will not tolerate discrimination of any sort, against riders or drivers, including on race, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity or age.

The transport app company pointed out that on the side of the driver, this also includes respecting the transportation of people with disabilities, including service animals.

“By maintaining high standards, riders will return time after time and drivers will keep as busy as they want. The Driver Deactivation Policy helps to ensure the best possible experience for everyone,” Uber declared in a press statement made available to ITRealms.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nokia unveils Mission Critical Communications Alliance

@ITRealms:

Nokia has unveiled its Mission Critical Communications Alliance, made up of a global collaboration of mobile operators, national and local-level public authorities and first response agencies to formalize standards in the use of LTE for public safety, while enabling new ideas and partnerships to bolster momentum in application of the technology in this area, reports Nokia unveils Mission Critical Communications Alliance.

Also, ITRealms gathered that the alliance brings together operators, government bodies and first response agencies, including Mobile Radio Center and Vodafone Hutchison Australia to inform policy makers on the use of 4G-based public safety technology.

The alliance equally aims at leading critical public safety communications ecosystem and standardization.

4G LTE, ITRealms also gathered, provides public safety services including first responders with mission-critical features such as real-time high-definition video streaming, remote data access and location-based services. Several countries are already upgrading their public safety systems to leverage LTE technology, Nokia and Korea's SK Telecom have recently demonstrated the capabilities of Ultra Compact Network, a portable small cell based LTE network that can provide 4G connectivity for public safety and other mission- and business-critical services in remote locations.

Chief Customer Operations Officer at Nokia, Ashish Chowdhary, said having worked with the various governments in the public safety field for over 60 years, Nokia is happy to facilitate a broad group of stakeholders in the global public safety community to drive the adoption of LTE in critical communications.

“The Mission Critical Communications Alliance will work towards realizing the unique benefits of LTE in public safety, enabling national, regional and local authorities to provide a higher level of safety and security for their citizens, while creating innovative new business models for service providers. We look forward to welcoming other members to the Alliance who are committed to using 4G technology to enhance the effectiveness of mission-critical services,” Chowdhary said.

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Samoa now full member of CTO

ITRealms:

The Pacific island and Commonwealth country, Samoa has become a full-member of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), reports ITRealms.

The country’s decision, ITRealms gathered was conveyed to Secretary-General, Mr. Shola Taylor by the country’s Minister of Communications & Information Technology, Honourable Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupa’i.

ITRealms also reports that in recent years, Samoa has increased efforts to integrate Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in its socio-economic development.

Samoa’s Internet penetration has grown nearly five-fold to 30 per cent over the past 10 years, just as its fixed broadband access remains a key challenge at a much lower two per cent. But the country remains committed to affordable, reliable and secure communications services for all Samoans and sees its membership of the CTO as one means to achieve this goal.

“We have the potential to turn Samoa into one good example of an inclusive e-society and drawing from the experiences from other countries will contribute to achieving this goal,” Tupa’i said.

ITRealms gathered that full Member Countries are Commonwealth countries that make an annual financial contribution to the CTO.

Reacting to Samoa’s decision, Mr Taylor said that “although it may be too soon to say, this announcement shows that our drive to address the needs of small island nations is increasingly well received.”

“With their limited economies of scale and the higher roll-out costs associated with island countries, most of them face much bigger challenges in achieving universal access to ICT infrastructure, products and services. One of our strategic objectives is to work with the rest of our membership and the wider ICT sector to find solutions to the challenges faced by this specific group,” Mr Taylor had also said earlier this year.

Chuks Dom/GEE

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Pix: Third from left: The Honourable Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupa’i taking part in discussions during the Forum.

Clinton: Forensic expert alleges poisoning by Putin, Trump

ITRealms:

Famous forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu has alleged that the Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in the forthcoming election, Mrs. Hillary Clinton may have been poisoned by the duo of Donald Trump and President Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports ITRealms.

In his Twitter handle, @bennetomalu9168, Dr. Omalu reputed for speaking out to the NFL in the United States, suggested that Hillary Clinton’s campaign be investigated for possible poisons after her collapse Sunday in New York.

Although Mrs Clinton had said she did not collapse but missed step, Omalu whose story was famously told in the movie “Concussion,” and reported by the Washington Post as pointing accusing fingers at Trump and Putin, insisting that campaign officials of Mrs Clinton should conduct with immediate effect a “toxicologic analysis of Ms. Clinton’s blood.”

Omalu added that his concern was based on antecedent of Mr. Putin as alluded by recent report by Washington Post, implicated by a British inquiry in January in the poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB operative in London in 2006.

The Post’s Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum wrote at the time:

Although the inquiry stops short of conclusively blaming Putin — noting the opaque nature of Kremlin politics — it finds that there is “strong circumstantial evidence that the Russian State was responsible for Mr. Litvinenko’s death.” And citing the high-stakes nature of an operation to assassinate a former KGB officer on British soil, it finds that the operation would probably not have gone ahead without Putin’s direct approval.

Omalu, famously played by Will Smith in “Concussion,” has studied and obtained a number of degrees. Born in Nigeria, he became a U.S. citizen in 2015 and is known for the tenacity with which he pursued the deaths of several former Pittsburgh Steelers during his time in the city’s medical examiner’s office.

Eventually, he convinced skeptics that players were suffering brain damage as the result of taking a number of blows to the head, and had insisted that Clinton may have been poisoned.

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Ban galore for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 by airlines

ITRealms:

In what started like a minute ban by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Samsung Note 7 either on carry-on bags or on check-in luggages, the mobile device is receiving more bans from airline operators globally, ITRealms reports.

As at the time of filing this report, over five major trans-continental airlines have placed ban on Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

This is coming as Samsung Electronics has recalled some 2.7 million units of its Galaxy Note 7 discovered to be have been on sale with faulty batteries which caused some handsets to explode during charging.

The ban, ITRealms gathered was hastened by the fire-prone discovered in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 especially at the point of charging the batteries.

GCAA in the notice of ban stated it has banned operating, charging and carrying in bags the Samsung Note 7 on board national carriers’ flights.

Although it has not been formally banned in Nigeria, but since the ban commenced a ew days ago, airlines and air safety agencies around the world have cautioned both airline operators and passengers against using this particular device on flights.

ITRealms gathered that last Friday, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urged Note 7 owners to stop using them by way of powering same device down and stop charging or using the device entirely.

CPSC alleged that the Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package and when these batteries overheat and burst, the results could be serious.

This consumer warning, ITRealms learnt was based on recent reports involving lithium-ion batteries in certain Note7 devices that have resulted in fires. CPSC stressed that these incidents have occurred while charging and during normal use, which has led the Commission to call for consumers to power down their Note7s.

CPSC and Samsung are working cooperatively to formally announce an official recall of the devices, as soon as possible. CPSC is working quickly to determine whether a replacement Galaxy Note7 is an acceptable remedy for Samsung or their phone carriers to provide to consumers.  

“We advise all consumers to report product safety incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in smartphones to us (CPSC) via www.SaferProducts.gov,” the official statement made available to ITRealms urged.

Further, Dubai's Emirates Airline, the largest Middle East carrier, said it will comply with immediately effect with the directive of GCAA, noting that this measure was to avoid the possibility of these devices' batteries causing fires.

Similarly, the United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways, has momentarily placed a ban on the use of the Galaxy Note 7 phones on board its flights, and the UAE also has two low-cost airlines, flydubai and Air Arabia that fly international routes.

In addition, the Australia's Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia have raised redflags on Samsung Galaxy Note 7s on their flights.

This is coming as the US and Japanese aviation authorities have urged passengers not to turn on or charge the large-screen phones on aircraft, whereas the US Federal Aviation Administration warned passengers not to stow the device in checked-in baggage.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Cloud strategists brain storm in Mauritius, Oracle commends Africa’s role

ITRealms:

The exchange of best practices and gaining expert insights from top cloud strategists was the key focus for Oracle customers who took part in Oracle’s two day long ‘Africa Executive Summit’ that concluded at the weekend in Mauritius, reports ITRealms.

Oracle also used the opportunity to commend its role on the continent as far as cloud is concerned, saying that ‘Africa Executive Summit’ hosted in Mauritius drove awareness and highlighted the impact of Oracle Cloud Solutions for business growth.

Claire Alexander of Oracle Corporate Communications, informed ITRealms that dozens of customers gathered to understand various aspects of the cloud adoption process including capacity building, innovation, security and the ability to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) for driving business growth with Oracle cloud solutions.

The Vice President of the Russia, Africa and Central Europe at Oracle, Janusz Naklicki, said cloud adoption in Africa is growing at a rapid pace as organizations now realise that cloud offers them speed, value and better return on investment (ROI).

“Africa is a priority market for us and the Africa Executive Summit is in line with our commitment to further drive this interest and support our customers in Africa in their journey to the cloud” he said.

The two day summit, Alexander noted, included a host of information packed activities including panel discussions, customer testimonials and keynote addresses by top Oracle executives including Janusz Naklicki; Cherian Varghese, Cluster Leader, Sub Saharan Africa, Oracle and Deepak Mehra, Vice President – Cloud Architect, Oracle.

“Cloud technology will undoubtedly drive the next phase of growth for businesses in Africa and with our completely integrated cloud platform that spans all layers of the cloud, we are uniquely poised to help SMEs, large organisations and governments in Africa transition to the cloud” Cherian Varghese said.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Tragedy of unthinking agitation and Niger Delta militants

Opinion@ITRealms:

The Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief William Makinde, speaking on Quest FM on Tuesday, 6th September, 2016, made a very serious point regarding the relocation of oil servicing companies from Delta State that should be a take home for every true lover of the Niger Delta. His major point was that we created the state of insecurity that chased away the companies that would have provided employment for our teaming unemployed youths.

This is the immutable truth that our so-called agitators and those who applaud them have failed to see. There is on the rise, a culture of laziness and self-destruct that has permeated and continues to bedevil the Niger Delta region, especially Delta State.

I can recall the mid-80s to the early 90s when Warri, the economic hub of Delta State was home to hundreds of oil companies. Oil production was at its peak and many of our young men and women were engaged in one form of employment or the other: technicians, fitters, welders, caterers, security guards, etc. It was in this era that catering, a hitherto disregarded profession in this area came to the fore.

Several catering schools sprang up to train careers to fill the need of the catering companies that catered for the countless oil companies that operated offshore and they were legion. Even security companies became sophisticated and people were no longer ashamed to take on security jobs as they were now well kitted and the pay was good. The economy of the area boomed. Night life and recreational activities which are indicators of economic buoyancy of the citizenry thrived.

Female night workers, popularly called club girls, could visit any of the night clubs, pick up an expatriate oil worker of any nation and take him to her one room apartment in a face me I face you apartment and spend the night in peace. That white man would wake up in the morning take a cab and go back to his place of abode without any fear or may even decide to spend the weekend without a care for his safety. Club girls were known then to turn down advances from black men whom they nicknamed "si kro kro" for lack of dollar power during club nights until the early hours of the morning when it became clear that there would be no white customers to catch.  Such were the exotic tastes of even prostitutes! How times have changed.

Enter the dragon! From nowhere, in the name of resource control, greedy politicians seeking leverage in national politics empowered and encouraged criminal groups to cripple oil installations. This graduated to kidnapping of expatriate oil workers for ransom and then vandalization and bombing of pipelines.

There was a time in Warri when you walked into a roadside bar and you would see an "Oyibo" man drinking beer. They had black friends, co-workers, whom they visited at home. But with the advent of unthinking militancy, the companies started relocating one after the other. Those that remained bought up our security and made us second class citizens in our land. You need to observe these expatriates hold up traffic during rush hours.

While our gun wielding uniform security operatives clear traffic for them –sometimes flogging us – we are made to spend needless hours in traffic just so that they can pass. While there is shortage of security for our homes and neighborhood, our expatriate friends have no such worries. Even the almighty Nigerian Army has been reduced to “maigad” – personal security men – status at the residents of the expatriates. You dare not loiter around their abodes or else you get the usual bloody civilian treatment.

Where has all this left us? A teeming horde of lazy jobless youths who think the surest way to easy wealth is intimidation and violence. They are even against the development of their own communities. Anyone who has attempted to create a road, draw electricity or site a building project in any of our commutes will know what I am talking about. "Deve" collection has driven away many investors from our clime as well as hampered and led to the folding up of many business concerns.

The evil that we created has come full circle. In the absence of white men to kidnap, these so called agitators have turned on our wives, daughters, and mothers who are daily kidnapped, and violated.

How does bombing and polluting the already degraded environment help the Niger Delta cause? How has the harassment and intimidation of investors helped the cause of the region? Instead of acting with tact to protect and preserve our environment, we have contributed in no small measure to its destruction. Instead of agitating to create wealth and employment, we have chased away employment opportunities.

Now let me say this to the so-called Niger Delta agitators who blow up oil pipelines and pollute the already over devastated environment. You are like the mad man who in an attempt to solve problem of rats in his house, set the house on fire only to sleep out in the rain. You are worse than the Boko Haram of the North-East. At least, for the Boko Haram, there is a religious hope of heaven and dream of conjugal bliss with seventy virgins, but for you, your religion has already condemned you to a life of damnation in hell, for the faith you profess is against rape, arson, stealing and murder. And for those who profess the African traditional religious faith, yours is even worse, for the gods of Egbesu, Agbejugbele, Igbe or whatever god you serve does not wait for the afterlife to mete out retribution.

Until we create a conducive atmosphere for investment to thrive we will continue to be jobless. The DESOPADEC MD put it succinctly when he said, until a white man can walk freely from NPA, Warri, to Enerhen junction in Effurun, without fear of being kidnapped, investors will continue to run away from our region and with them the prospect of employment and general economic boom.

Mark Zuckerberg recently came to Nigeria, was allegedly to have freely walked on the streets of Lagos and jogged on Eko Bridge without security escort. This is the kind of environment that encourages investors and employment creation and not an atmosphere like the killing fields of the streets of Lebanon.

I challenge all “Waferians” with memory to cast their minds back to the mid-80s to early 90s before the agitation that drove away the companies and tell me when the region was better off: before or after the agitations? What gains has the so-called militancy brought us if not strife, tears and pain? Besides making billionaires of a few, what gains have the years of criminal militancy disguised as agitation for freedom the region?

Niger Deltans, it is time for us to think.

Contributed by: Austin Emaduku wrote from Ekete, Udu LGA, Delta State, Nigeria.

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