" ITREALMS: November 2018

Friday, November 30, 2018

Epe traditional rulers support Sanwo-Olu for governor - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:
The Epe traditional rulers council may have thrown their weight behind the Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Lagos State governorship election, reports ITREALMS.

Making their declarations, Friday, the traditional rulers from Epe, Eredo and Agbowa-Ikosin at the palace of Oba Kamorudeen Animashahun, the Oloja of Epe Land, the Oba Babatunde Ogunlaja, moved the motion on behalf of other traditional rulers in Epe Local Government Area of the state.

The motion was seconded by the Oba of Alanyadelu in Eredo LCDA, near Epe, Oba Ganiyu Asumo.

In his speech, Oba Animashahun, said that the endorsement of Sanwo-olu was a collective resolution reached by all the traditional rulers in the community.

He also said that the endorsement became necessary for the progress and development of the Epe community and appealed to the APC governorship candidate not to neglect the ongoing road construction in the area.

“Epe has not enjoyed the dividends of democracy enough. The performance of the incumbent government in the community is commendable but more still needs to be done. Some of the road projects in the division are yet to be completed. I appeal to you, Sanwoolu to kindly complete the projects for us.”

In his remarks earlier, Babajide Sanwo-olu, the APC governorship candidate pledged to complete the ongoing projects in Epe division, declaring “I will run an all-inclusive government. I will ensure that all the uncompleted projects are completed.”

Ayo Midele/GEE

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The Nigerian Left and Constitution - ITREALMS

For some time in the early part of Nigeria’s Second Republic (1979-1983), several groups in the Nigerian Left debated what the movement’s relationship with the opposition People’s Redemption Party (PRP) should be. Several Leftists had been involved in the formation of the party while several more joined after formation. But the bulk of “hard core” Leftists, particularly Marxists, remained outside the party which, today, would be described as “radical left-of-centre”: left-of-centre on account of its ideological placement and radical in its methods. Of the 19 states into which the country was then divided, PRP controlled the governments of two: Kaduna and Kano—where Kaduna included the present Katsina State and Kano included the present Jigawa. The party was modestly represented in the National Assembly.

That PRP controlled the governments of old Kaduna and Kano states and had a presence in the national seat of power in Lagos meant that the party and the governments it controlled accepted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979. They operated that Constitution and were bound by it. This legal relationship with the Constitution was one of the greatest subjective and ideological obstacles to the formal entry of several Leftists into the PRP. And this was the setting for a respected veteran Leftist to charge, in a closed meeting, and then in an international Marxist journal, that those Leftists who refused to join the PRP on account of the latter operating the Nigerian Constitution were ignorant and lazy arm-chair revolutionaries.

More directly and substantively, the comrade declared that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979, was sufficient for the Nigerian Left to make a revolution if it was actually interested in making a revolution! The “gates of hell” broke open after this charge. Comrades did not go to blows only because there would be no one to separate the fight. Besides, if fighting had broken out and the police had come in there would have been sufficient evidence to charge the two sides with any offence – ranging from “rioting” to “treasonable felony”. That was more than 35 years ago.

This near-violent debate over the possibility of using the Nigerian Constitution to make a revolution, in the particular way the question presented itself in 1980 or 1981, has since been resolved by history and transcended ideological and politically by the Nigerian Left. But the general question of the relationship of the Left to the fundamental law of the Nigerian State remains. So, what is this fundamental law, this constitution? How does the Left see it? How should the Left see it? Should the changing of the Constitution—including “popular-democratic restructuring”—be one of the current key demands of the Left or one of the key elements of the People’s Manifesto? If the Left comes to power today—alone or in a coalition—will changing the Constitution be one of its immediate priorities?

Let me quickly dispose of the last question. As important as a radical review of the Constitution may appear, it cannot be one of the first acts of a Left government on coming to power. Radical and massive redeployment and redistribution of the nation’s resources in favour of the working, toiling, poor and de-classed masses and lifting of layers of burden from their shoulders will be the first symbolic and substantive acts. And these will be carried out not by initiating a constitution-review process—a long process—but by stretching to the limit the provisions of the present Constitution. No law will be broken, no court order will be disobeyed. Only two defensive steps will be taken: placing the revolutionary measures directly before the people and summoning people’s lawyers across the land. Constitution-review will be carried out later: not much later, but later.

Now to the other questions. The Constitution, in the sense we use it here, is the fundamental law or body of laws instituted by a state or adopted by a state to rule over a defined territory. Logically, the Constitution starts by defining the state whose instrument of rule it is. It then defines the People covered by the authority of that state and the operation of the Constitution. Somewhere in the introductory segments of the Constitution a claim is made—in one form or another—that the Constitution is an embodiment of the will of the people.

This claim is neither completely false nor completely true. Rather, it is ideological. For the people must have been involved—in one form or another, in one marginal or superficial way or another, at one level of deception or another—in the production of that document. But the Constitution is, in essence, the will of the state. And the state is, in essence, the will of the ruling classes.

The Constitution makes the claim of “universal” representation because the state uses it to rule over the entire territory and the whole people—and not a fraction of the territory or the ruling class alone. And because the Constitution makes such a claim it is compelled, regardless of the process of its coming into being and without mitigating its essence, to agree to some concessions to the people in content and in form (including the use of language). A ruling class or a state which refuses to make concessions and compromises is reducing the roads to change to only one: revolution. No state, no ruling class wishes to be permanently in a state of siege or turmoil. And the means of preventing this—as long as possible—is through concessions and compromises, including constitutional reforms. These concessions and compromises, as minor as they may appear when they are snatched from the ruling class, may be called into a decisive role at a future critical moment.

A Constitution which is a bundle of lies, and nothing else, will lack all credibility and will be useless to the ruling class and the state. It is these compromises and concessions that the 1980 “Leftist protagonists” of the 1979 Constitution insisted could be used and should be used to advance the popular struggle. What they did not say or did not say convincingly or were not allowed to say was that this use of the Constitution would not exhaust the forms of struggle or be the highest form of struggle in the revolutionary arsenal of the Nigerian Left.

What the “Leftist protagonists” of the 1979 Constitution were therefore saying can now be appreciated through the prism of 2018 and set out in a series of connected propositions: One: Although historically, the reform struggle, including the struggle for a more democratic constitution, has been an integral part of the revolutionary struggle in Nigeria, the latter cannot and should not be reduced to the former. In other words, the agenda of the Nigerian Left is much wider and deeper than the reform struggle, including the struggle for a new constitution. Two: The limited democratic provisions in the Constitution could be used to wage both electoral struggle and general popular-democratic struggle in a manner that the ruling class and the state had not envisaged.

Three: Exposing the limitations of the Constitution is a revolutionary struggle which, in certain conjunctures can be more effectively waged in actual popular-democratic engagements—including elections and, when possible, actual governance. Four: In participating in electoral and governance politics where the Left is not in power—even if it is marginally in office—participating Leftists should seek, obtain and retain organized revolutionary backing.

*Contributed by Edwin Madunagu, mathematician and journalist, writes from Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

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Thursday, November 29, 2018

Electric Vehicle Futures @ IDTechEx Show! Silicon Valley - ITREALMS

The IDTechEx Show! ended in Santa Clara, but that was the tip of the iceberg, stressing that the event had a hidden message; the future enabling technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) from buses to cars to miningvehicles, reports ITREALMS.

With its origins in being the world’s largest printed electronics event, it has seamlessly extended to similar technology in sensors, 3D printed electronics and one of this year’s buzzy topics – In-Mold Electronics (IME) - based on screen printing of stretchable conducting patterns for actuators, lighting, sensing and more connected to embedded LED and IC chips. All this is vital to the future e-aircraft, e-boats and more.

Raghu Das, CEO of analyst firm IDTechEx that stages the yearly event said, “As we continue to rapidly grow the event we shall make it more obvious that your customer and your customers’ customers are present. In 2019, we shall have an electric vehicle area in the exhibition. It will major on the new enabling electric vehicle technologies that our current exhibitors have in spades, in addition to adding many more.”

IDTechEx has over 20 new reports on electric vehicles and their technologies and it is currently carrying out consultancy for EV leaders,as well as providing detailed global information through its EV subscription platform. Exhibitors such as ABeetle Taiwan, DuPont USA and TactoTek Finland demonstrated the virtuosity of replacing 50-100 optical, sensing and actuating components with one in-moldsmart material for an overhead control and lighting cluster or dashboard for example. 

"Vital to electric vehicles, this increases reliability and life tenfold, reduces weight and volume up to 90% and makes things work better. An antenna in the surface of a molding performs best, for example. IME is a no-brainer. In prospect is lower up front cost and cost of ownership and vitally “fit-and-forget”.

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AfDB approves €17.96m ring-road project in Cameroon - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a €17.96 million loan to the Republic of Cameroon to finance the construction of a Ring-Road Project in the North-West Province of the country, reports ITREALMS.

The Ring Road project, IT
REALMS gathered, falls under phase three of the country’s Transport Sector Support Programme, aims to improve the movement of goods and people. It will also strengthen the foundations for strong and sustainable growth by promoting domestic and regional trade.

The loan for the 365 km Ring Road is the Bank’s third intervention in the implementation of this important road network rehabilitation and upgrading project. The loop road crosses five of Cameroon’s seven divisions of the North West Region and includes several links to the Nigerian border.

The project will also include institutional support for the transport sector and related works such as the development of rural roads, the rehabilitation of socio-economic infrastructure for improving women and youth living conditions.

The road project is line with the government’s Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) 2010-2020, to build an integrated and efficient transport network at low-cost that covers the entire country opening the country to neighbouring countries to effectively enhance economic growth and reduce poverty.

The Transport Sector Support programme under which the project falls is also consistent with Pillar I of the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2016-2020 for Cameroon, which focuses on strengthening infrastructure to support agricultural value chains for inclusive growth and aligns with the Bank’s High 5 priorities.

Cameroon’s northwestern region has enormous economic potential, particularly in agriculture, which stands to benefit from the road. Other lucrative sectors include livestock and fisheries; tourism, particularly the spectacular natural landscapes such as the Menchum Falls, Lakes Awing, Oku and Nyos, the Mbengwi Caves.

The project is also expected to have a positive impact on transportation - greatly reducing travel time ; increase in traffic of passenger and goods; foster job creation for women and lead to work for 30,000 youths. The road will result in savings on vehicle operating costs; increase in household income and reduction in post-harvest losses.

The total cost of phase one of the Transport Sector Support Programme is estimated at €255 million (XAF 167.270 billion). It will be implemented from December 2018 to June 2024, with the Bank’s co-financing loan of €179.60 million, an Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) loan of €42 million and the Government’s counterpart funding of €32.84 million.

At the end of August 2018, the Bank’s portfolio in Cameroon comprised 24 operations (18 national and five multinational operations) for total net commitments of €1,369.02 million. The public sector accounts for €1,218.03 million for 19 operations, while the private sector accounts for four projects valued at €150.99 million. (Transport and ICT sectors account for 63% of the portfolio).

Since 1972, when the Bank started operations in Cameroon, it has participated in financing 28 transport sector operations.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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CTO opens fellowship call for 2019 - ITREALMS

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) has opened a call for applications for the 2018 - 2019 Commonwealth Professional Fellowships, reports ITREALMS

The scheme supports mid-career professionals from developing member countries of the Commonwealth to spend three months with a UK host organisation, such as the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), on a professional development programme.

The CTO will host fellows who will be working on number of ICT projects and application is open until 3 December 2018.

These projects will focus on emerging ICT related areas including "Universal Service Obligation (USO) Study –During the recent Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum in London in June 2018, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) was mandated to conduct a study to understand how or whether CTO member countries have deployed USO frameworks. In addition, the project aims to understand challenges facing many countries in terms of achieving USO goals and plans for the future. The project will draw on work done by other nations to understand trends in the field and identify examples of where the USO funds have been utilized to substantially increase broadband access.

"Digital Currencies Regulation - This projects aims to identify emerging issues and challenges relating to digital currencies regulation and propose a framework that can be adopted across Commonwealth countries, to enable use of good practice in regulating digital currencies. These considerations will include, and not limited to - exchanges, trading and mining; crowdfunding and ICOs; and emerging financial products. 

"Critical Information Infrastructure Protection - This project aims to develop a national framework that can be adopted for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) for the Commonwealth countries such that all stakeholders understand how to identify, assess the risk and secure their CII; understand their roles and responsibilities in executing a holistic and coordinated approach to protecting CII services from cyber disruptions; and ultimately be able to better secure their cyberspace. 

"ICT Capacity Development Programme - This project aims to restructure the Programme for Development & Training (PDT) at the CTO, in order to enable the CTO deliver improved and effective ICT training to its members. The fellow will review the current PDT programme, its procedures and processes, and liaise with CTO stakeholders, including Liaison Officers (LOs) from PDT members. The review will produce a proposed revised framework for the PDT programme. 

"Improving ICT Sector Stakeholder Engagement - Being a fast-evolving field, ICTs require strong and effective engagement amongst stakeholders. Stakeholders involved in ICT at national level, need to be constantly updated about the developments in the sector so that their impact can be properly assessed. 

"The two key strategies at the CTO include the use of membership action plan (MAP) and facilitating links between stakeholders themselves. The fellow will identify emerging issues and challenges relating to CTO membership and how to improve CTO’s membership and communications strategy and benefits to its members. 

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Facebook, CC-Hub & JAN join forces on online safety for students - ITREALMS

Facebook has announced it has teamed up with Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and Junior Achievement Nigeria to launch an Online Safety Programme for students in Nigerian secondary schools across the country including in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Ibadan and Kaduna, reports ITREALMS.

A 12-week workshop, the programme is designed to introduce and challenge teenagers between the ages of 14-17 in understanding the fundamentals of online safety and digital literacy. Covering topics such as Managing an Online Presence, Social Media and Sharing, Public Wi-Fi Safety, Building Healthy Relationships Online, Understanding Password Security and Privacy Settings, as well as Identifying Misinformation Online.

Speaking on the initiative, Sherry Dzinoreva Facebook’s Policy Programmes Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa commented: “Collectively, we all have a responsibility to help teach the fundamentals of staying safe online to our future generations. With the youngest aged continent, we’re seeing more young people come online in Nigeria, and understanding how to identify and filter misinformation, managing their online presence and how to stay safe online are just some of the core skills we need to equip them with. Facebook's Digital Literacy Library has been designed to make it easy to integrate these lessons into the curriculum or on their own as part of after-school programmes.”

Aimed to empower youths, these will be run as after-school clubs through a network of specially trained safety educators. Using select modules from Facebook's Digital Literacy Library, a new online resource tool developed by Youth and Media (YaM) researchers at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the Facebook Digital Literacy Library is currently available for teachers and youth facilitators to access free of charge, and consists of over 18 lessons covering a range of topics in both English and Hausa.

Developed for educators, the lessons incorporate over 10 years of academic research by the Youth and Media team and reflect the diverse voices of young people from around the world.

"In our work raising young digital makers, we have seen the enthusiasm with which they use the internet to access knowledge and tools to develop their skills. With this, we have realized that now more than ever it is important to also empower them with the skills to stay safe as they explore the online world. SafeOnline has been designed to teach concepts that address online habits of the target group in a series of fun and interactive sessions using resources from the Facebook Digital Literacy Library. We believe that this programme lays the foundation for building young digital safety champions across Nigeria," said Nissi Madu, Programme Manager, re:learn by CcHub

Commenting, Simi Nwogugu, Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria said: "Junior Achievement Nigeria embarked on a digital transformation strategy in 2015 to take advantage of new technologies and tools for reaching our thousands of students across Nigeria. We realized the opportunities afforded by the Internet also came with some challenges, particularly for young students who may be more vulnerable online, so when Facebook approached us about SafeOnline, it was exactly what we needed to insure our students against those vulnerabilities. We are proud to be a partner in this initiative and look forward to taking SafeOnline to all our schools across all regions of Nigeria."

Next year, the programme will extend to Enugu, Port Harcourt, Jos, Aba and Uyo.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Wednesday, November 28, 2018

How GDPR impacts negatively on ventures, creates headache for telcos - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:
The latest research note from the Strand Consult has lamented how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has impacted negatively on venture investments in Europe and will be headache for telecommunications industry, reports ITREALMS.

Many European politicians, Strand Consult said, have touted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as “leveling the playing field” against the American internet companies and empower European consumers.

Strand Consult was skeptical of these claims, having seen similar un-evidenced policymaking before on net neutrality. Indeed Strand Consult has documented how this policy has had the opposite of its intended effect. Net neutrality rules were supposed to create the next Google or Facebook from an EU country. Instead the only countries which have platforms that rival Google or Facebook are Russia and China, countries with no net neutrality rules.

As for GDPR, Strand Consult predicted in its report Understanding the GDPR and Its Unintended Consequences that the largest firms would benefit at the expense of small players and that consumers would experience either no improvement or a decline in utility. The report also describes how pseudo pro-consumer policies are a front to increased government power at the expense of consumer freedom. Strand Consult's predictions have proven true according to a variety of sources, as noted below.

The unintended consequences of GDPR are bad news for the telecom industry. They will have a negative impact on the value chain of companies that will develop and deliver services on top of the upcoming 5G networks in Europe. Strand Consult observes how the EU is already behind on pre-5G products and services, and that GDPR only makes it worse. The US and China are racing ahead on 5G and Europe continues to fall behind on network investment and 5G product and service development. Moreover Europeans are missing out on the social and technological transformations already afoot in the US and China where consumers have adopted pre-5G products and services.

Just as hard net neutrality regulation has been shown to have a negative impact on mobile app innovation, GDPR has shown a negative impact on venture capital investment. The National Bureau of Economic Research, the leading economic institute in the USA, has published research by the former chief economist of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and two academics at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Using Crunchbase data from VC deals in the US and EU from July 2017-Septeber 2018, it analyzes the post-GDPR effects on EU ventures, relative to their US counterparts. The negative effects manifest in the overall dollar amounts raised across funding deals, the number of deals, and the dollar amount raised per individual deal.

Specifically this has translated into a $3.38 million decrease in the aggregate dollars raised by EU ventures per state per catetory per week, a 17.6% reduction in the number of weekly venture deals, and a 39.6% decrease in the amount raised in an average deal following the rollout of GDPR. These declines are associated with losses projected between 3,000-30,000 jobs.

The paper was featured at a public hearing by the American competition authorities FTC which is conducting a process over many months to determine the actual impact of data regulation. The open and transparent policy process in the US makes a stark contrast to the EU where policy influencers can mask their identities. Unlike the US where filings to the policymaking process are collected online and made freedly available, no such database is available for the GDPR in the EU. As such, it is difficult, if not impossible, to know how and who influences policy in the EU.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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FG recovers N540bn through Whistle Blower Policy - ITREALMS

MediaWatch@ITREALMS:
The Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) has recovered over N540 billion through the Whistle Blower Policy, reports ITREALMS.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 71st General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“To this end, as at May this year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, through the Whistle Blower Policy, has recovered over N527 Billion, $53 million, and £122,890,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed, who was represented by the Director, Public Relations and Protocol, of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr. Sunny Adejoh Baba, said the EFCC also successfully launched a major onslaught on the seeming high–and–mighty in the society (including senior military officer and their civilian accomplices), who had soiled their hands with shady deals, leading to the recovery of choice assets across the country.
He therefore enjoined the media to align itself with the policies and programmes of the Buhari Administration, aimed at ridding the country of the cancer of corruption, in order to free funds for development projects, which will uplift the standard of living of the citizenry.

“This effort should not be seen as the sole effort of Mr. President or the Government alone.  The media has a duty to ensure that the programmes of Government, meant to uplift the lots of the citizenry, are projected as a national cause and not just as that of Mr. President or the administration,” the Minister said.

Alhaji Mohammed, who said the BON General Assembly is taking place at an auspicious time in view of the forthcoming general elections, charged the broadcasting organizations not to yield their platforms to the purveyors of hate speech and fake news.

He said the broadcasting outfits should instead promote the unity, stability and the development of the country.

“Anything short of this would amount to a criminal abdication of a sacred duty which could spell doom for our collective national life. We have had enough sordid examples to learn from that we ought not to allow a repeat at this critical time of our national development.

“It is therefore of utmost importance that the media and specifically, broadcast media, do not allow itself to become a purveyor of fake news and hate speeches,” the Minister said.

He restated the Federal Government’s commitment to allowing the press to carry out its assigned watchdog roles, even as government expects the press to be guided by national interest above every other interests.

Alhaji Mohammed said the launch of the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in Jos in April 2016 underscored the Administration’s determination to democratize the right to know, the right to knowledge and the right to be informed.

He noted that the changing media landscape and the advent of digital technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function of media in the society, at times circumventing traditional media and challenging its privileged role as gate-keeper of news and entertainment.


The Minister therefore urged companies in the broadcasting value-chain to take the advantage of the market and build local stations that would not only create employment for a diverse segment of the population, but would also lead to a transfer of technology and free the creative dexterity of the young population.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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ccNSO review survey available for community input - ITREALMS

The independent examiner conducting the second review of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO), Meridian Institute, has published a survey for community input, reports ITREALMS.

The aim of the survey, ITREALMS gathered is to collect input from those who have interacted with ccNSO or have suggestions for ways to improve it. 

"The survey is informed by learnings from Meridian Institute's research and interviews conducted to date," a press statement from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) stated.

ITREALMS reports that following the close of the survey on 21 December 2018 at 23:59 UTC, Meridian Institute will evaluate responses, along with input received via interviews and other forums, as input to its assessment report. The assessment report is expected to be posted for community consultation in February 2019.

As with all ICANN Organizational Reviews, the second ccNSO review is following a two-phased approach, in which the independent examiner first completes its assessment and then makes recommendations to address the findings noted during the assessment.

The purpose of the Bylaws-mandated ccNSO review is to determine (i) whether the ccNSO has a continuing purpose within the ICANN structure; (ii) how effectively the ccNSO fulfils its purpose and whether any change in its structure or operations is desirable to improve the ccNSO's effectiveness; and (iii) the extent to which the ccNSO as a whole is accountable to its organizations, committees, constituencies, and stakeholder groups. Meridian Institute was selected to conduct the second ccNSO review in August 2018.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nokia, China's OPPO sign patent license agreement - ITREALMS

Nokia has signed a patent license agreement with OPPO, reports ITREALMS.
Under the agreement, OPPO will make payments to Nokia for a multi-year license period.

"OPPO is one of the leaders in the smartphone industry and we are pleased to welcome them as a Nokia licensee," said Maria Varsellona, Nokia Chief Legal Officer and President of Nokia Technologies. "This agreement further validates our global licensing program."

The terms of the agreement remain confidential between the parties.

However, 
ITREALMS gathered that Nokia creates the technology to connect the world, powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, and serves communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Akinwuntan apologises to customers over Ecobank upgrade disruption - ITREALMS

The managing director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan has apologized to customers over disruptions that occurred due to upgrade of core banking and online banking platforms, reports ITREALMS.

The bank MD in a letter to Ecobank customers in Nigeria and made available to ITREALMS, he expressed excitement for the support during the time and of these upgrade.

“During the period our ATMs, Cards, and Mobile App were available for use, however, we experienced some post migration issues which affected transfers in and out of the bank and have now been mostly resolved,” he said.


Akinwuntan also said “Once again, I apologise for any service hitches experienced dueinf the upgrade and appreciate your commitment and partnership with Ecobank.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Metele killings: Ositelu urges FG to declare national security emergency - ITREALMS

Presidential candidate of the Accord Party (AP), Mr. Isaac Babatunde Ositelu, has urged the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria to declare, with immediate effect, a state of emergency in the nation’s security architecture, reports ITREALMS.

This call, ITREALMS reports, follows the spate of gruesome killings of the civilian population and military personnel by the insurgent groups rampaging in the sections of the country. 

According to him, it’s a tragedy of immense proportion that each time, the military claims to have technically defeated the insurgents, the group usually responded with bigger damage on the people and the military.

In a statement released to the media in Lagos, on Tuesday, he said that the life of every Nigerian must not be cut short with reckless abandon while the nation’s leaders and its people carry on as if it is business as usual. “It is unacceptable the way our people are being killed on a regular basis. No nation should stand aloof and watch with trepidation the deliberate and consistent carnage in our land,” he said.

Ositelu admonished that the war on insurgency cannot be fought and won in the media space. According to him, it is demeaning to the image of the country how military bases are cheaply over run by the Boko Haram fighters, promising to make military institutions fortresses that are impenetrable to armed gangs if elected President.

While condoling with the federal government, Nigerian military authorities and the families of the fallen heroes, Ositelu said that the Metele massacre in Borno State, north eastern state of Borno, is one too many. He therefore said that with the intractable killings of the military operatives and the Nigerian people, particularly, in the northern states, his government would probe all defense and security budgets and expenditure from 1999 to 2018. He noted that if the capital votes and releases to the military had been efficiently executed in the last 19 years, there was no way the Nigerian military would continue to come under violent butchery by the marauders and insurgent groups. He said that since the beginning of this year no fewer than 160 officers and soldiers have been killed by the militant groups.

The Accord Party presidential candidate said that clear cut performance metrics would be used in defining the tenure of his security chiefs once the mantle of leadership is handed over to him. He stressed that military commanders who failed to meet up to their deliverables would be asked to give way to a more robust leadership that is result oriented. While assuring that competency, commitment, dedication and loyalty to the country would be rewarded, he said that the various agencies including the armed forces, Police, Department of State Security (DSS), the Military Intelligence Agency (MIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency would be encouraged to have seamless collaborations in the interest of the nation. He said that the unmitigated rivalry among the security services would be a thing of the past during his tenure.

Ositelu said that the Nigerian military which had won international accolades across Africa and other parts of the globe had no business being decimated by a rat tag insurgent militants. According to him, if insinuations that the welfare of the military operatives had ebbed deeply and that most of the military equipment for fighting the insurgents were obsolete aside from being ill equipped, there is no better time than during his tenure to fumigate the budgetary provisions and expenditures from 1999 till date.

He said that there will be a paradigm shift in the manner of tackling the insurgents if the Nigerian people vote him into power at the 2019 Presidential election. According to him, the Accord Party led central government would not claim to know it all. Rather, he said that his government will be going into strategic collaborations and partnerships with nations that have striking experience in the successful dismemberment of insurgencies across the world. He assured that technology driven and intelligence focussed military would be the new plank of the military that he would bequeath to the Nigerian nation.

Aside from providing the most modern equipment and training facilities for a combat ready army, he said that welfare of the rank and file of the military would be top notch for his administration. According to him, the impunity with which political leaders, the bureaucracy and military hierarchy siphon the funds for military equipment and welfare of the soldiers will be a thing of the past as those found culpable would be dealt with according to the laws of the land. He said that budgets for military and security operations would be streamlined for results. “Never again will the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) get more budgetary provisions than the sum allocated to the entire defense sector as witnessed in recent past,” he said.

“My government will also try to address the ideological angle to the issue of insurgency by working with the stakeholders including religious clerics, traditional rulers and civilian joint task force to nip such ideas in the bud in the future”, he said. He assured that the multi-national joint military taskforce would be re-energised and refocused so that insurgents won’t continue to wreak havoc in country and run for cover in another because of the uncoordinated management of the four nations (Nigeria, Republics of Niger, Chad and Cameroun) joint military taskforce.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

419! Bamaiyi exposes how Ajudua defrauded him of $6,963,200 - ITREALMS

The former Army Chief, Ishaya Bamaiyi has exposed the fraudulent antics of Fred Ajudua who defrauded him estimated $6,963,200 in a space of two years, reports ITREALMS.

Bamaiyi who testified before Justice Josephine Oyefeso of an Ikeja High Court on Monday, November 26, 2018, expressed dismay on how Fred Ajudua defrauded him of millions of dollars at Kirikiri Prisons.

ITREALMS recalled that in July 2018, the one-time Lagos socialite and businessman, Fred Ajudua, was brought before the court with the prosecution calling its first witness, Michael Kreamer, who was allegedly duped of $550,000 in 1993.

Mr Ajudua was remanded in prison on Monday after he pleaded not guilty to a 12-count amended charge of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, obtaining money by false pretence, issuing forged document, and forgery.

However, General Bamaiyi stunned the court with details of how Fred Ajudua defrauded him through a diary entries, comprising:

"... That in December, 2004, Ajudua received $20,000, $400,000, $350,000, $1 million and $600,000.

"In January, 2005, according to the dairy record, the defendant received $200,000 on two occasions, $700,000 and $175,000.

"He told the court that in February 2005, Ajudua received $50,000, $500,000, and in May, collected $100,000, $20,000 and $29, 200.

“In June 2005, $450,000, $180,000, $450,000 were received by Ajudua. In July 2005, $1 million, $390,000, $42,000 and $177,000 dollars were received on various occasions by Ajudua.

“In September 2005, $15,000 was received by Ajudua. In November 2005, the defendant received $80,000 and in December, Ajudua received $15,000.’’

Further, he revealed the last tranch with Ajudua fraudulently receiving money from him, the former CAS said “the defendant came to Kirikiri Maximum Prisons and collected $20,000 from me".

Ishaya Bamaiyi, is a retired Nigerian Army Lieutenant General and former Chief of Army Staff. 

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Pix: Ishaya Bamaiyi

Nokia scores first in Africa, powers 200G optical service - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:
In what sounds like the first in Africa, Nokia says it has powered 200G optical services on Telecom Egypt upgrades existing via Nokia 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) backbone network to offer higher-speed services to both broadband and mobile customers reports ITREALMS.

With this, ITREALMS gathered that Nokia doubles Telecom Egypt's existing backbone capacity on Delta Region DWDM backbone network, marking the first 200G long distance, single carrier transmission service in Africa.

With growth in demand for mobile video and ultra broadband services, Telecom Egypt worked closely with its partner Nokia to upgrade its current Nokia 1830 PSS backbone network. The network capacity increase brings higher-rate broadband services to fixed customers, as well as higher data rates for LTE mobile subscribers. Upgrading its existing Nokia PSS 1830 switches with Nokia's PSE technology enables Telecom Egypt to double its capacity while reducing operating costs.

Telecom Egypt is upgrading its backbone network using the Nokia 500G DWDM Muxponder, a programmable card that provides wavelength capacities from 50G to 250G per line port. Based on Nokia's Photonic Service Engine (PSE) coherent digital signal processor, this programmability will allow Telecom Egypt to provision and tune the wavelength capacity per optical route to ensure that its network is operated at peak performance, capacity and lowest cost-per-gigabit.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Mobile phone shipments nosedives - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Africa's mobile phone market declined 2.1 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q3 2018 according to the latest figures according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), reports ITREALMS.

The global technology research and consulting firm newly released Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, made available to ITREALMS, showed overall shipments for the quarter totaled 52.6 million units, with feature phone shipments falling 2.7 per cent QoQ and smartphone shipments declining 1.3 per cent over the same period.

Transsion brands (Tecno, Infinix, and Itel) led the feature phone space in Q3 2018, with a combined unit share of 58.2 per cent. Nokia was next in line with 11.7 per cent share. Transsion, Samsung, and Huawei dominated the smartphone space with respective unit shares of 34.9%, 21.7%, and 10.2%. However, in value terms, Samsung led the smartphone market with 37.2% share, followed by Transsion (21.0%) and Huawei (13.0%).

There were differing fortunes in the region's three major markets, with Nigeria suffering a heavy 11.6% QoQ decline in mobile phone shipments, while South Africa and Kenya saw respective QoQ growth of 8.5% and 7.9% in Q3 2018.

"The decline in Nigeria stemmed from a slowdown in government spending, ongoing warfare in the country's northern states, and market uncertainty in the lead up to elections," says George Mbuthia, a research analyst at IDC. "In South Africa, the market's growth was spurred by the penetration of low-end devices from brands such as Mobicel, Mint, and Nokia, while the launch of entry-level smartphones helped drive growth in Kenya despite increases in taxes and fuel prices placing a significant burden on disposable income in the country."

While feature phones remain steadfastly popular across Africa, particularly in more rural areas, consumers are increasingly being attracted by smartphone offerings from Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Huawei, which are actively targeting feature-oriented customers at more economical price points.

"There is a new wave of Chinese brands aggressively pursuing growth opportunities in the region, while the more-established Huawei is also accelerating its marketing efforts and expanding its distribution budget," says Ramazan Yavuz, a research manager at IDC. "These brands have quickly progressed along the learning curve and evolved their offerings to perfectly reflect the realities of the region by addressing the diverse pricing and feature needs of the consumer base."

Looking ahead, IDC expects Africa's overall mobile phone market to reach 58 million units in Q4 2018, spurred by the festive season and online consumer events such as Black Friday. The introduction of more affordable smartphones in the African market will help drive progress in this space over the coming quarters, while the share of feature phones will decline steadily as the transition to smartphones gathers momentum.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Monday, November 26, 2018

Lai Mohammed & spirit of Dolos - ITREALMS

You may never have heard of Dolos (Dolus). In Greek mythology, Dolos is the undisputed spirit of guile, cunning craftiness, lies and its many cousins including subterfuge. Dolos is the master of fibs. The spirit of Dolos is in every man. Yes, man always has a tendency to spin a lie. But this spirit finds more expression in some men than in others. Nigeria’s Lai Mohammed has a good share of the Dolos syndrome. Indeed, a bad share, too much for one man. Lai lies. He lies to the nation. He lies to himself. He lies to all. Uncle Lai is a damn good propagandist. All good propagandists lean on lie, live on lies and leave you wondering if you are still a normal being.

Lai has been lying to the nation. But his latest that the Nigerian government spends N3.5 million monthly to feed detained leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shiites, Ibrahim El-ZakZaky, beats all. It is a masterpiece from a man afflicted by the spirit of Dolos. In fairness to Uncle Lai, he has to lie to live. He must lie to keep his job. In brand management, it is a tough job trying to sell a bad product. Muhammadu Buhari, once thought to be a good guy that would alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians, has turned a very bad product; a soured soup that needed the best of seasonings to make it taste good again. But never. A soured soup remains what it is: offensive to the taste buds.

Buhari is a very bad product as it now stands. He is a bloody pretender, an impostor who barged into the hallway of governance and made a mess of it. And how odd he looks here. Unfit to lead; ungainly in his actions and brutally divisive in all his ways. Nigeria has had incompetent leaders; the likes of Goodluck Jonathan, Umaru Yar’Adua, and the crowd of military goons who intruded into the nation’s leadership space. But none of them has afflicted the people with pepper and pain more than Buhari. None has divided the nation along ethno-religious lines more than Buhari. And worst of it all, none has manifested worse cluelessness than Buhari. He is not only clueless, he is eternally unaware of the demands of his office.

Perhaps, minders of the President knew what awaited Nigerians and they propped up Uncle Lai as the Minister of Information (Propaganda). And the cap fits. Lai is a good liar. And lies have many variants. The great bard, Mark Twain, referencing former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, once wrote: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics”. Lai has mastered all. On behalf of this government, he has told the nation lies and damned lies. He has trotted out statistics, some standing on the props of absurdity, just to support his often weird claims.

But let’s be fair, Uncle Lai has to lie. This government is full of fraud, scam, perfidy, certificate forgeries and forgers, deceit and grand subterfuge, even dissimulation. Just check this out. Another uncle, Audu Ogbeh, the minister of agriculture who lusts after statistics and latches at any figure to support his spurious claims once came up with what only hybrids of Dolos could spin. He said Rice Mills in Thailand are shutting down because export to Nigeria has significantly declined or even non-existent. He even claimed that the Ambassador of Thailand was in his office to cry like a baby that Buhari government policy on local rice production has dealt a deadly blow to Thailand’s economy by pushing unemployment from 1.2 percent to four percent because Nigeria’s rice import has fallen by 95 percent. Wondrous wonder!

Quickly, the Thailand Ambassador, Wattana Kunwongse, repudiated the toxic lie. He described it as misleading and a distortion of actual conversation between himself and our Uncle Audu. And you just wonder, when will these actors on the nation’s political stage stop lying? But why lie just to look good when the realities on ground speak the contrary.

But no matter, I salute Uncle Lai. He deserves an Oscar. He is the reason this government is still looking somehow good even when it is not doing good. Lai is the man for this moment. He makes Hitler’s Joe Goebbels look like an apprentice.

Nevertheless, I still like Uncle Lai. I like his passion for the absurd and the ludicrous. His voluble appetite for spin is matchless. When Lai is on duty and in his element, you can count on him to strike the chord of absurdity in a manner that sends you into a spasm of guttural guffaw. You just can’t stop laughing at Uncle Lai’s many wonders.

Thank goodness for social media, Nigerians now see behind the veil. They see the political actors in their raw, uncut state. I understand the sentiments of some journalists who blamed the TV reporter for transmitting aspect of a conversation with Lai Mohammed that was meant to be off-the-record (not off-record, please). It is unethical to do so. But when ethics clash with national interest (public interest or right of the people to know) it is only commonsensical that public interest wins. It is in the interest of Nigerians to know that a princely N3.5 million of their tax money goes into feeding a very important prisoner monthly.

That’s an average of N116,000 daily in a country still battling to pay N18,000 minimum wage. What does this Shiite leader eat? Even if he moved in there with his household, would they gulp and guzzle this much in food and drinks? It is practically impossible for Zakzaky to eat this much in one day. But with Uncle Lai, everything is a possibility. That’s what happens to those afflicted by the spirit of Dolos. They are like sheep in a salt market: obsessed, fixated and animatedly infatuated.

Our dear Uncle Lai is steeped in the darkest belly of lies and lying. He is afflicted and he needs help. Obviously, he can’t help himself. Like a sheep thrust into a salt dune, Lai needs to be shooed out of the scene. He needs to take the back stage in the fumbling Buhari government. He has caused this nation much embarrassment. The bad thing about lying is that at a point the liar loses his sense of shame. It’s his people, relations and friends who take the shame on his behalf. For Uncle Lai, I’m ashamed on your behalf.

Lai Mohammed obviously has lost his sense of shame. It does not matter to him what he says. He just opens his mouth and belches out statistics and claims too hard to prove and too surreal to be real. He does not need his audience to believe him. He just talks. Whether you are able to make sense of his nonsense is immaterial. It’s the way of all liars. The voice of propaganda consistently rings out: “Tell your lies boldly and persistently and people would be made to believe you.” That is the Lai way.

But we must help him. We must retrieve him from the abyss of absurdity into which he plunged himself. President Buhari should help us redeem our Uncle from the precipice before he recedes irredeemably into the umbra of lunacy.

Courtesy: Ken Ugbechie …gongbeat column/GEE

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Pix: Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information & Culture

2019: Irona pledges good governance, inaugurates Ihedioha campaign committee - ITREALMS



The Deputy Gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State, Hon. Gerald Irona, has assured people of the State of good governance when voted into power in 2019, reports ITREALMS.
He gave this assurance weekend, while inaugurating the Imo Restoration Vanguard and Ihedioha Campaign Committee in Eziorsu, Oguta Local Government Area of the State, reiterated the commitment of the PDP team to bringing the dividends of democracy to the door steps of the people.

According to him, “Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is committed to good governance and bringing the dividends of democracy to your door steps. We must come together to end the era of poor governance in Imo. Go and tell Imo people the good news that the PDP is ready to right the wrongs in the state by returning power to the people. It is time to end poverty and create wealth in Imo. The era of deceit is over. It is time to ensure that your rights as the economic base of the state are protected and all that you have been denied over the years restored.”
A press statement by the Adviser, Communications to Rt. Hon. Gerald Irona, Dr. Walter Duru, made available to ITREALMS, quoted him as charging people of the area to resist the temptation of selling their votes for peanuts in order to secure the future of the state.
In their respective speeches, some leaders of the area- Messrs. Charles Mazi, Clinton Ifejirika and Kingsley Ngwuruakor Adigwe were unanimous in pouring encomiums on Hon. Irona, describing him as a dependable leader.

They pledged their support to the Ihedioha/Irona joint PDP ticket, describing it as the best option for Imo state in 2019.

The community leaders urged people of the area to give massive support to the PDP in 2019 in order to deliver the state from what they described as “mismanagement of resources and poor governance.”

The highlights of the occasion were speeches, cultural dances and defection of persons from other political parties to the PDP, among others.
No fewer than five thousand persons from Eziorsu town and other parts of Oru Ward were present at the event.

Nenye Dom/GEE
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98% Generation Z uses technology for formal education - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:
Those born after the mid-1990s who are tech-savvy, digital natives to the core, also known as Generation Zers, have confirmed usage of technology as part of their formal education by 98 per cent, reports ITREALMS.

Latest 17-country research commissioned by Dell Technologies, post-millennials on those born after 1996; who have a deep, universal understanding of technology has shown potential to transform how we work and live.

The research noted that “They’re joining your workforce, they bring new skills, high expectations and a desire to shake things up.”

The survey of over 12,000 high school and college students in 17 countries revealed the younger generation’s outlook on technology and future jobs.

In addition, some 91 per cent said the technology offered by an employer will be a factor in choosing among similar job offers, stressing that 80 per cent want to work with cutting-edge technology.

And of those, ITREALMS reports that 38 per cent were interested in Information Technology (IT) careers, 39 per cent want to work in cybersecurity and 46per cent aspire to do technology research and development.

Equally, 80 per cent of these youngsters, believe technology and automation will create a more equitable work environment by preventing bias and discrimination.

ITREALMS further reports that overwhelmingly 89 per cent of them recognized that “we are entering the age of human-machine partnerships: 51 per cent of those surveyed believe that humans and machines will work as integrated teams, while 38 per cent see machines as tools for humans to use as needed.”

Chuks Egbune/ED, Ops

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Pix: Dell Technologies

NCS@40 Galore: NITMA honours over 134 awardees – ITREALMS

The 2018 National Information Technology Merit Awards (NITMA) ended in Lagos with 40 year anniversary of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and award galore for over 134 renowned industry personalities, reports ITREALMS.

NITMA, ITREALMS gathered is the NCS flagship for recognition of its distinguished members annually.

NITMA 2018, ITREALMS reports held recently at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos, also featured the special recognition awards, fellowship condiments, IT industry awards, IT personality of the year awards, scholarship and long service awards respectively.

With the chairman of the event being the an astute technology investor and founder of CWG Plc and AUSSO Leadership Academy Mr. Austin Okere, saw the adoption of NCS anthem composed by the Ogun State chapter.

NCS President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu said the recognitions were in spirit of celebrating the benchmark of excellence and exceptional people in IT industry in the country and NCS as the umbrella body of all IT professionals, interest groups and stakeholders in the last 40 years.

He pointed out that from inception in 1978 it was known as the Computer Association of Nigeria (CAN) and later known as COAN via its acronym.

This had in 2002 took another turn with the harmonization of interest groups to include the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN).

The 40th anniversary special recognition awards first went to the first 40 registered members, followed by the vice presidents and deputy presidents numbering 33, some 13 presidents since inception including Dr. Chris Nwannenna and Prof. Charles Uwadia, in addition to five Executive Secretaries since 2004 till date under the leadership of Mr. Iyiola Ayoola.

Nine Presidents cum Chairmen-in-Council of Computer Professionals (Registration) Council of Nigeria (CPN) from 1993, as well as seven Registrars and Provosts, College of Fellows of CPN respectively.

 
Further, ITREALMS reports that for the presidents of Interest groups in NCS were honoured including five from ISPON, ITAN 6, ISPAN 3, Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIIT), Nigerian Information Technology Professionals in the Civil Service (NITPCS), IT Systems and Security Professionals (ITSSP) and Academia in Information Technology (AIT), having 2, 1, 2 and 1 in that order were honoured.

Equally, the NITMA 2018 witnessed the conferment of professional fellowships on 21 persons including the Executive Chairman, Linkserve Limited, Chief Chima Uzoma Onyekwere, and Director, ICT at Communication Technology Ministry, Mrs Monilola Udoh, chief executive officer of MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke, Rukayat Modupe Adeyemi of CPN, and Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Pantami, among others.

Whereas Mr. Peter S. Arogundade of Sidmach Technologies emerged the IT Personality of the year 2018, the staff long service award went to the manager, Corporate Affairs/Head Information Technology, Mr. Taiwo Oyesanwo, who joined NCS since 2003.



Chuks Egbune/ED, Ops

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African ICT Foundation rebrands, shops for new BoT - ITREALMS

The African ICT Foundation has commenced search for a new Board of Trustee (BoT) to position the foundation to meet its key objectives beginning in 2019, reports ITREALMS.

The African ICT Foundation, 
ITREALMS recalls, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan research and educational institute whose mission is to formulate, evaluate, and promote policy solutions that accelerate innovation and boost productivity to spur growth, opportunity, and progress in the ICT ecosystem Africa.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Mr. Emmanuel Bassey in a press statement available to 
ITREALMS, the foundation was established in 2008 to discover new opportunities in ICT that will have positive impact on the African economy, tackle attended challenges, and avoid potential pitfalls.

He disclosed that a key aspect of the rebranding is the inauguration of a new Board of Trustees to drive the affairs of the Foundation in the coming years, for effective delivery of its objectives hence the need for a new board.”

He said: “At inception it had as its board member: Dr. Samuel I. Ikiddeh, Chairman, Engr. Emmanuel E. Ekuwem- Member, Engr. Lanre Ajayi, President – Member, Mr. Aliyu D. Ibrahim, Business Development Manager, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC)- Member, Dr. Olufunsho Olusanya, Rector, ICT Gateway Polytechnic, Itori Ogun state and Rev. Oke Omezi, Legal Practitioner and Pastor of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Mr. Usman A.Rufai , Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Science Computer science Department ,University of Lagos, and Prof. Effiong Johnson (Dean of Student Affairs, University of Uyo).”

Bassey explained that the Foundation is poised towards providing policymakers in the continent with high-quality information, analysis, and recommendations they can trust.

While expressing confidence of the new Board of Trustee to meet the objectives of the Foundation, he promised that in all ramifications, it will adhere to a high standard of research integrity with an internal code of ethics grounded in analytical rigor, policy pragmatism, and independence from external direction or bias.

He stated that Africans can nominate respected ICT personalities who have made their mark and creating impact in Africa’s ICT ecosystem by visiting the Foundation’s website: africanictfoundation.org.

The Foundation, he said, “will be led by a board of experts in the ICT industry in Africa and African descent that are internationally recognised in policy issues and have recognised footprint in the industry.”

He said the board will be a team of policy analysts and fellows includes authors and recognized experts in the fields of telecommunications, public policy advocacy, economics, tax policy, trade, privacy, cybersecurity, and life sciences, among others. Stressing that the board will run the Foundation through a secretariat based in Nigeria with other offices in Africa.

Upon inauguration, he said, the board, which shall consist of the Chairman of the Board/President, Vice Chair/Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and representatives of other African countries, the board shall elect its officials.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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