Hunger for Power

BookReview@ITREALMS: 

INTRODUCTION

My take is that this engagement is not a BOOK Review, but the Review of a STORY. A STORY well told by a seasoned STORY TELLER.

I have reviewed a couple of books in the past and my objective at all times is to make a short presentation of what, in my opinion, is the summary of a document that I have read, in a manner that simplifies the content, explains the complex portions, and decodes any technical issues in the book. I also take a critical look at the core message of the book, so the author and/or the publishers may have a takeaway while the audience gets an attraction to read the book.

But here we are, we have a book with a sweet storyline, beautifully written in the best tradition of the English language, that holds the attention and interest of the reader that makes it hard for the reader to put it down.  I bet that many of us will read this STORY at a sitting or two, have a laugh, have fun, and probably start all over again. The STORY is not complex, requires no explanation of any complex theories, and is simply a good read!! There is nothing to decode. It is written in short chapters of 4, 5, 6 pages and the one relatively long chapter is just 23 pages long. So what will a reviewer do? Make it more complex?

When Dr. Newton Jibunoh called to inform me that I was his choice to review a book that was at the time still in the works but should be ready for public presentation on the occasion of his 80th birthday on January 1, 2018, I was suitably humbled. I wondered what qualified me for the honour of reviewing a book that would chronicle three journeys through the Sahara Desert, amongst other life experiences, crammed into his 80 years here on earth. This is an adventurous man who has packed enough experiences in his lifetime that wuld require three lifetimes for most regular folks to achieve.

When you hear that Newton Jibunoh writes a book, most folks will expect that such book will detail his experience as a Sahara Desert traveler, an environmentalist, an art connoisseur. While the book HUNGER FOR POWER talks about those subjects, the story goes beyond those topics. I have read at least two books, in which Dr. Jibunoh discusses his Sahara Desert and Environment odysseys, and my opinion is that although his massive material and intellectual investment in the Sahara Desert, the environment, the arts and artifacts etc. were featured in this book, it appears the telling of those stories for which the author was well-known was really in aid of challenging the reader - TO TRIGGER VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

I believe that this STORY TELLER is telling the story so that we can start some CONVERSATIONS, a number of which have already been suggested but perhaps not taken seriously; some rather well known but by a general conspiracy of silence are regarded as no-go areas, while some have not even been mentioned.

It is those CONVERSATIONS that I want to use my privilege of being a Reviewer of the STORY to mention and draw attention to.

This story teller, I am sure, means different things to many people, and is known by varied and various appellations, but applying the content of this STORY, I can safely refer to him as: Newton Chukwukadibia Jibunoh, Desert Warrior, Environmentalist, Jibrin Makoda, “Baba Costain”, a Determined Good Houseboy, and the IsagbaOdua of Akwukwu-Igbo land and Obasoge of Oligboland which are not in the story.

These conversations are routed in subjects such as HUMAN BEINGS AND HUMANITY, CULTURE AND ITS AUDACITY, CORRUPTION AND ITS VENOM, POWER AND ITS ENORMITY, and the hypocrisy of Godliness vis-a-vis religiosity.

POWER AND ITS ENORMITY

There are more than one hundred and ten persons named in this STORY, and we can correctly say that these are friends and associates of the author. Friendship can be positive or negative, a point brought to the fore by Dr. Jibunoh with his POWER THEORIES, to the effect that we all possess the same amount of innate powers which do get shaped and affected by a number of factors including: our circumstances of birth, education, the peer group we relate to, and even the accidents of life that we run into. Positive uses of those powers deliver accomplishments, while negative applications lead to various troubling situations and turpitude. The differences in the use of our innate powers that we see as good or bad are applied by the author to demonstrate that few of us utilise these innate and God-given powers to positive ends. Hear him  

"When I think of Power, the only other thing I think of is Fire. Power is like fire; it can keep you warm and it can burn you. It can cook you a meal or raze your house. It can purify gold or calcify a human being. Ensconced deep within its core are elements of good and evil. It all depends on the choices you make when you handle it."

A list of his friends (See LIST), especially those who are here at this time, will signify that yes, he is a big man of means and that is why all his friends are equally men and women of means.  But that will be wrong going by the story that he tells! All the people on this long list of friends can be compartmentalised into groups defined by the application of their individual innate powers. And that is where the differences lie; accidents of meeting, be it family, school, business, are not really the differentiating factors when the chips are down. It is the manner individuals use their powers that put them into these imaginary compartments.

THE LIST

Everybody comes into play in this story according to how he or she had used the power which the Almighty gave him/her.

BABA COSTAIN

The most revealing segment of this STORY is the record of the author’s time with Costain West Africa Plc.  (CWA), especially how Dr. Newton Jibunoh took the firm from the valley to a comfortable mountain of success within Nigeria's corporate landscape. I will commend a good read of Chapter 14, "BABA COSTAIN" to upcoming and young business managers who desire to build a formidable skills set in management for confronting the vicissitudes of industry upheaval, which has now and again terrorised Nigerian corporate conglomerates and multinationals many of which had dismantled their structures once the weather became turbulent.

The author’s time in Costain is also a good account a genuine effort at LOCAL CONTENT   DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION that I am privileged to take away from this account. It is instructive to find the author revealing, in particular, that he lost a good number of the battles to powerful opponents of the subject matter, a greater number of which were Federal Government projects.  Hear him directly as he discusses an experience with a Shell Trustees building Project:

"My decision to bring up this fight over LOCAL CONTENT is a deliberate one on my part, designed to draw attention to the continuing struggles Nigerians face daily, to prove themselves. It was a fight I constantly took on as the CEO of Costain (West Africa) Plc., with the full support of my Board.

Unfortunately, I lost more of them than I won. And majority of the ones I lost were actually Federal Government projects, where the permanent secretaries and directors would have been feted lavishly abroad, or fed lies about us, which they would not bother to investigate. I had some of our competitors, expatriate controlled competition, claim at various times that we were going bankrupt, or in the process of being bought over by them. Ridiculous, unsubstantiated claims, all of them. Thankfully, Shell Trustees did not buy those lies. We went on to execute the contract, and delivered on the project in good time and with very high quality...."

Let's wrap up the STORY.

Here is a person who was orphaned in early life, and consequently suffered a bit of deprivation, as might be expected in his situation. However, He refused to be held back by the circumstances of his birth, and very early in life displayed the tenacity and single-mindedness that would take him to the heights of his professional life as well as fuel his adventurous spirit. He overcame fear easily and consistently focused on things that he considered important. Unknown to him, people noticed his drive and focus, and he became remarkably successful because he attracted opportunities and challenges in life, which he diligently accepted and successfully prosecuted. He learned more from the “book of life” than he did from just books, and he became perpetually hungry for POWER to change things, especially those relating to poverty, squalor and a degrading environment, without any desire to seek political office.

THE BOOK

Let us talk a bit about the BOOK, now that we are done with the STORY.

We have been presented with an interesting book, published in today's tradition and classic production of Paradigm House.

Its 328 pages are divided into four parts, within each part lies, at least one interesting CONVERSATION.

In discussing the author's EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY, we get a sense of Newton Jibunoh’ s deep root in tradition and culture, which will eventually manifest in his love and support for the arts. We must note his concern about a number of contentious traditions, for example, one that makes children born for men whose names the children do not adopt but rather names of their separated mothers’ former husbands simply because a dowry paid on their mothers are yet to be repaid. The matter is worsened by the fact that such children not only find themselves in an awkward situation of suspect identity, they also are denied some rights, even as the same cultural norm offers no form of protection. Worse still when some of the rather educated and affluent ones among them challenged the matter in court, the court ruled that 'This is a traditional thing, go back and settle it amongst your people". I believe that calls for some serious CONVERSATION!

The part that discusses the author's CAREER, MARRIAGE, FRIENDSHIP and ASSOCIATIONS is unarguably the most remarkable of the four parts. Here Newton Jibunoh presents a story that should be read by all young persons who are transiting from adolescence to maturity, and desirous of climbing the ladder of professional and corporate life in an economy that is, at best, emerging. 

The matter of CORRUPTION in all its importunate attachment to our lives as Nigerians,  is brought to the fore and treated in a manner that I feel will start A CONVERSATION but leaves for the reader to think about. Kolanut, a traditional symbol of appreciation becomes a metaphor for corruption. And the author uses his personal experience to answer the question "when and how did we get into this corruption mess in Nigeria?" I ask that all Nigerians read the "KOLANUT" as the “GIVE” example and the "GOLD PEN" scenarios as the “RECEIVE” example. While the country continues, with varying amount of success, to wage a war on corruption, the CONVERSATION that I feel should have preceded it, is yet to commence.

The POWER SERIES is the part that asserts the author's authority on the subject of "POWER". This part exists to distinguish the actual power of his interest from the ephemeral ones that are brought about by uniforms, the siren, position, addiction and all those man-made ephemeral manifestations as distinct from what the Almighty has created in all of us.

The fourth and final part of the book, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, is where the author gives short but gripping details of the planning and execution of his third travel from Lagos to London through the Sahara Desert. This, unlike the first and second journeys, was in company of other adventurous folks, including Joshua Adegbaju, Afam Ugha, Ebun Olatoye, Titi Laoye, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, and Adure Achumba. This chapter also highlights the author’s environmental advocacy, which covers projects into which he personally invested his own personal funds, as well as some that were eventually endorsed and supported by Governments at various levels. Of particular note is his FADE (Fight Against Desert Encroachment) project, an instant success and a project which brought tremendous endorsement of governments and citizens. The Makoda project, as an example, provided trees to check desertification, while also providing water for the villagers. This provision of water also led to a secondary positive effect of increasing secondary school enrolment in Makoda community, Kano State. The Jibrin Makoda title, which I mentioned earlier, is a worthy honour which the village bestowed on the Desert Warrior in appreciation of his work in the area.

Yes, this is the real conversation that the Desert Warrior, Dr. Newton Chukwukadibia Jibunoh, wants Nigeria, its people and governments to have, and wage a war against environmental degradation that is decimating the upper regions of northern Nigeria through desertification of their environments.

In this regard, he says:  “In developing countries in general, and particularly in Africa, a vicious cycle exists where land degradation is accelerating, productivity is decreasing and poverty is increasing”(Page 272)

STRANGE, ISN’T IT

You all wonder why the author did not keep the first car that did the London - Lagos trip as a souvenir and artifact.  It is not for lack of desire to preserve that car but a reason exists for why the car was not kept as such. Please see page 95 for details.

WHAT IS IT THAT NEWTON JIBUNOH DID NOT TALK ABOUT IN THIS STORY?

I tried unsuccessfully to find the name of the Secondary school that he attended just as I did not locate the maiden name of Mrs. Elizabeth Jibunoh. Yes he attended a few secondary schools, as was often with those who lived with itinerant teachers and any attempt to mention any of those schools may attract complaints by others. I have since found out that Mrs Elizabeth Jibunoh was Miss Elizabeth Okagbue.

AND WHAT ARE THINGS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN DIFFERENTLY TO BE MORE CORRECT?

On the back cover of the book, “Newton Jibunoh is an 80 year old Nigerian national who has crossed the Sahara Desert by car thrice”, not twice as stated. 

The Managing Director of First Bank Plc. about 1979 was Chief Oluwole or Wole (not Wale) Adeosun. (Page 119) while one of the triumvirate that built the three tall buildings in Victoria Island is Mr. Adeyemi Bero, not Bello. (Page 143)

Page 255 starts Part Four, not Three as written in the book

The name Abdulrahman Dahiru is written as Abdulraham Dahiru in Page 96.

IS DR JIBUNOH STILL PLANNING OTHER EXPEDITIONS FOR THE FUTURE?

Page 227 provides an answer.

PETER FARRINGTON

Mr. Peter Farrington presents as the star of this STORY and one cannot conclude this review without making a special mention of this great gentleman, professional, and manager. In corporate life, there are a few people who are natural role models and I dare say Peter Farrington is one. I looked forward to meeting him at this Event but I have been advised that Peter would not be here. Ladies and gentlemen, please read about Peter in this book.

CONCLUSION

What have we done? We have reviewed a STORY which constituted itself into a BOOK that goes by the title “HUNGER FOR POWER”.

Thank you, and God bless.

*Reviewer: Titi Omo-Ettu, a telecommunications engineer, versatile writer and could be reached via titi@titiomoettu.com

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Handshake Across The Niger: Ohaneze, Afenifere to consolidate affiliation

Communique@ITREALMS:

A joint communique Ohaneze Ndigbo, and Afenifere after a meetind widely described as 'Handshake Across The Niger' in Enugu, capital of Enugu State recently, endorsed by the duo of Chief Nnia Nwodo, president general of Ohaneze and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere chieftain.

Excerpts.                  

A] Notations.

After today’s meeting of all strata of persons of Igbo and Yoruba origins in Enugu, the erstwhile capital of Eastern Nigeria, the conferees comprising leaders of the South West (SW), South East (SE), the South South (SS) the Middle Belt (MB) made several observations and resolved as follows:

1. Noted the immense strength of Igbo-Yoruba close affinities of kinship and brotherhood, shared origins and cultural/ethical values, a common world view and inherent love of freedom and justice;

2. Noted that the Hand Shake Across the Niger (HSAN), anchored on the heroism of Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi and Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, though long overdue, has finally burst the myth of Igbo-Yoruba irreconcilable differences and spiteful rivalry, thus, providing new impetus for resurgence of the same bold, patriotic and nationalist solidarity of the two ethnic groups from the 1930s to the 1950s that earned independence for Nigeria in 1960;

3. Noted that in a long history of close relations and association, the Igbo and Yoruba have no recorded instances of violence against each other’s ethnic group, such as inter-ethnic mass killings and destruction and/or seizure of property; that instead, they have lived, worked and prospered together, accommodating and respecting their differences;

4. Expressed awareness that grievances generated by past errors on both sides can no longer justify or sustain dissention between the two groups whose solidarity and mutual collaboration have the capacity to dramatically change the fortunes of Nigeria, thereby also, changing the fates of the African continent and the black race;

5. Noted that the HS has brought about a new dawn of irreversible amity in the horizon of Igbo-Yoruba relations, that they have today declared time-up for, and permanently buried, the hatchet of distrust and spiteful rivalry, leading to a credible tipping-point of optimism and opportunity in realizing the destiny of Nigeria as a start-up nation-state that can achieve great things;

B] Decisions and Commitments.
In consequence of the fore-going, the conferees of the HS arrived at the following decisions and commitments:

1. Decided to collaborate closely to create mutually beneficial opportunities, build a strong alliance to advance their ever growing mutual interests, while striving together to meet the common responsibilities of building a united, coherent and prosperous nation - state of free peoples, freely relating to one another across the dividing lines of tribe, religion, region and politics;

2. Declared unflinching support for a truly federal union of Nigeria that is democratic, stable, secure, peaceful, just and fair to all its citizens.

3. Committed to work in close partnership and through peaceful means to restructure Nigeria, reducing and restricting the duties of the federal government to only matters of national import on the exclusive list, while granting the federating units the right to take full responsibility for local, developmental and residual matters, as this will lead to healthy competition and cooperation among the federating units, in place of the present dysfunctional arrangement that merely superintends over the sharing and consuming of rents, and holds some States and Zones down for others to play the elusive game of catch-up;

4. Committed to insistence therefore, on peaceful devolution of powers, fiscal federalism, land/resource ownership/control, reforming component structural and systemic institutions to radically reduce the escalating cost of governance;

5. Committed to working tirelessly towards joining the economically-performing nations  – China, India, Brazil, Israel, Singapore , South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand etc. – not as a dependent State, but a competitive producer and exporter of knowledge-based goods and services;

6. Committed to immediate implementation of pro federalism recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, in particular those affecting the efficiency of governance.

C] The way forward.
We believe that the fore-going measures will reposition Nigeria to reach credible nationhood, attain its full potential and respect in the community of nations thereby enabling us to effectively lead the campaign for the political and economic renaissance of Africa and the black race – the very goals for which the Zik of Africa and the sage Chief Awolowo and a host of other founding nationalists lived and sacrificed so much.  The conferees of the HS have therefore:

i] Decided that today’s Hand Shake (HS) is not a one off event, but only the first of a progressive and continuous re-socialization project that will, in short order, reach out to embrace other compatriots in the South South (SS) , Middle Belt [MB], North Central (NC) North East (NE) and North West (NW) zones of the country;

ii] Decided therefore, to establish a standing Joint Action Committee to drive this process, and to continually articulate fresh ideas and strategies to sustain the current zeal and momentum of mutual understanding and collaborative actions aimed at resuscitating Nigeria politically and economically in order to position her to earn her rightful place among the contending nations in the world.

The composition and mandate of the Joint Committee and its sub-committees, along with the full report of today’s Hand Shake, will be posted in due course.

@ITRealmJanuary 11, 2018

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

9Mobile acquisition: Glo denies instigating report, confident in NCC, Barclays

ITREALMS

Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has denied instigating media which positioned it as the preferred bidder and has infact went ahead to acquire the embattled 9Mobile which has been on the investors shelf, reports ITRealms.

In its reaction, Glo distanced itself from media reports which made rounds lately, insisting that it has not acquired telecommunications company, 9Mobile.

A press statement issued in Lagos on Friday said: “Globacom has not acquired 9Mobile as widely reported in the media.”

According to the company, "We are bound by the terms of the acquisition process as stipulated by the authorities handling it and we will not in any way sway or deviate from the rules".

“We repose confidence in Barclays Africa, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which are handling the process that will lead to the emergence of a new owner for the company”.

Globacom urges all stakeholders and, indeed, the Nigerian public to disregard the report.

Nonye Dom/GEE

Related story:  9mobile acquisition: NCC clears air, sets new date

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Enpact Fellowship Mentor, Moses Acquah, inspires Nigerian start-ups

WeekendSpecial@ITREALMS::

The months of November and December has been remarkable for Findworka and to other Nigerian startup companies whose founders were part of the Enpact Fellowship as one of the assigned mentors, Moses Acquah, an experienced CTO, a senior ICT Company Builder, certified scrum master and coach visited start-ups across the country to inspire them, reports ITRealms.

As part of mentoring the fellows at Enpact, he visited Findworka’s office at Yaba, Lagos where he shared amazing tips with the Findworka Team. He studied all aspect of their operations and offered advice to the marketing, customer service and design teams.

Dele Bakare, his enpact-mentee and the chief executive officer of Findworka recalls the visit as a highly insightful experience. Moses urged the team to use the S.A.R.A principle to access the quality of every idea- every product must be sustainable, affordable, reliable and accessible.

He also interacted with Findworka’s engineering team and shared his thoughts with them on how to make better products for their clients while improving on the production time and he advised operations on how to manage burn rate.

Finally Moses Acquah discussed Findworka’s latest project, a developer-focused hackathon called Saucecode a developer-focused competition. The competition’s website is live athttp://saucecode.xyz and the call for entries has already begun.

To participate, you must join or form a team of a maximum of four people and a minimum of 2. Participants are required to build a solution for one of problem statements listed on the website.

All five finalists get FbStart prize packages which will provide each team with a wide range of free developer tools. The winning team gets admission tickets worth $800 to attend Facebook’s F8 2018 at California, United States, admission tickets to attend

Afrolynk’s conference 2018 and coaching for the winning team to prepare their application for the Afrolynk’s $50,000 startup challenge.

Saucecode is a project aimed at discovering and celebrating the finest technical talents in Africa starting with Nigeria. It was conceived to challenge the developers in our ecosystem, encourage programming best practice, promote collaboration, make new role models out of the very best and put Nigeria on the map again.

Findworka and two other nigerian startups will be heading to Ghana this January for the final one week intensive startup mentoring camp (enpact mentoring.org) which will be crowned with an Afrolynk - Enpact Startup summit in Accra. All Enpact Nigerian startups together with other startups across West Africa will meet and interact with seasoned Mentors, Experts and investors within African and from Europe.

Staff Reporter/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Pix: L-R Dele Bakare CEO, Findworka, Songya Kessler ( ​Leadership Consultant and mentor, Enpact.org, and Moses Acquah, CTO/ Snr ICT Company builder at GreenTec Capital Partners.

N14b offer: Western Lotto raises stakes with Powerball Max

ITREALMS:

Electronic gaming and entertainment firm, Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, has raised the stakes in Nigeria industry with the introduction of Powerball Max, one of its latest  franchise, reports ITRealms.

Powerball Max, a US lottery, offers winnings of up to N14b ($26,000,000.00). Western Lotto Nigeria Limited is the official partner of the lottery.

Powerball is the wealthiest lottery in the world, offering an N562billion jackpot. Draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday in the US or Thursday and Sunday Nigerian time.

The Managing Director of Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, Mr Yomi Ogunfowora, said the gamers on the platform could tap into the nine ways through which to win prizes.

He explained that jackpots never fall below N14billion at any given time, just as winners share from a large pot.

According to him, Western Lotto added the Powerball Max to its rich bouquet of games in line with its pledge “to bring world-class entertainment to Nigerians”.

He also told ITRealms that participation in the Powerball Max cost only N200 per game.

The frontline gaming platform allows Nigerians the opportunity to play and win millions of dollars offered by other renowned games like Mega Millions, Euro Millions, Euro Jackpot and the UK.

“We are committed to bringing undiluted world-class entertainment and this is a major one for us. For someone to participate directly in these international games is a huge opportunity. Nigerians are intelligent and fun-loving. Hopefully, the world will soon celebrate a jackpot winner in this country,” he said.

Ogunfowora in a press statement made available to ITRealms and endorsed by Lead, Brand Management at WesternLotto, Mr Arinze Asiegbunam, further disclosed that over 18,000 gamers had won different cash prizes at WesternLotto including Dorcas Nwagbara, who won N15million in September 2017.

“Our platform is synonymous with winnings. We have had people win N100, 000 N500, 000, N1million and other mouth-watering cash prizes. Last September, a graduate of Imo State University, Dorcas Nwagbara, won N15million.

“We have many other games on our portal, including the fast-paced Lotto Race game where you win by the minutes. We are giving Nigerians a platform to better their lives,” Ogunfowora said.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Buhari to Gani Adams: Use your position to unite Nigeria

ITREALMS:

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the Aare Ona Kakanfo-designate, Otunba Gani Adams, to use the office into which he is about to step in for national unity of the country, reports ITRealms.

Adams, ITRealms recalls would will be installed on January 13, 2018 as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, at Durbar Stadium, Oyo town, Oyo State.

The admonition of the President to Otunba Adams, the Founder of the Oodua Progressive Union, which is spread across 79 countries, was contained in a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina.

Adesina said Buhari warmly congratulates Adams, the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, on his investiture as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo on Saturday.

He then charged the new Generalissimo of Yorubaland to use the position to pursue worthy goals of security, peace and national unity.

So also did the President commend Oba Adeyemi on the appointment of a new Aare Ona Kakanfo, who, he said, will assist him in the arduous task of leading the illustrious Yoruba people.

President Buhari urged the new Aare Ona Kakanfo “to bring quintessential courage, wisdom and astuteness to bear on his new office, for a more secured life for the weak, vulnerable and voiceless in the country”.

President Buhari prayed that the almighty God will grant the Aare Ona Kakanfo a favourable reign.

 Ayo Midele/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

2018: Nigeria’s digital rights and policy landscape

Commentary@ITRealms:

The year 2018 was heralded by the unfortunate news of the arrest of a UK-based, Nigeria blogger by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad popularly referred to as SARS at the early hours of Monday, January 1, 2018, at his residence in Anambra state. 

Whilele Internet users and enthusiasts especially those who are actively engaged on different platforms on the Internet were looking forward to new applications, innovations and other forms of exciting developments as the year approached, the first Internet-related news in Nigeria had to be the arrest of the blogger Daniel Elombah in a gestapo-style operation which is suitable, only for armed and hardened criminals. 

This is not in any way a departure from what was witnessed throughout last year but more than anything, this is a signal that we must brace up for policies that seeks to control how people use Internet platforms in 2018 and these will be for different reasons; ranging from the sheer desire by politicians to control the narratives, launder their image as the election approaches as well as legitimate concerns around security usually demonstrated by policies aimed at curbing fake news and hate speeches. 

It is definitely an interesting year ahead and more than before, the Nigerian citizens would be called upon as the guardian of the space as the government would be an increasing vested interest in Internet Policy discourse. 

Forecasting 2018 suggest to me that many Nigerians will be forced to get involved in the policy process as we did when the infamous “Anti-Social Media Bill” was introduced in the Nigerian Senate in 2015 and the reason is not far-fetched;  I will delve into it  immediately;

The 2019 General Elections: 2018 is the pre-election year. Engagement on social media platforms is about to increase geometrically. In an African focused study titled ‘How Africa Tweets’ conducted in 2015, Nigeria was the second largest country in Africa with geolocated tweets (360) million. Also, 

Accordingng to Data by Internet Stats, Nigeria has 16,000,000 active Facebook users as at June 2017. These stats are to underscore how much we have embraced the use of Social media platforms in Nigeria especially for political debates, discourse, commerce and Social Interactions. 

While the platform providers will be smiling to the bank, the conversations will get heated, politicians will try to shape the narratives, political parties will attempt at selling their agenda. There will be hate, fake news and policies will be contemplated to curb fake news, hate and insightful comments and this, the government will leverage to its political advantage by targeting dissent and opposing voices.

One important focus area for Digital Rights organisations in 2018 is to work with other civil society organisations and concerned citizens to fight the monster of fake news as the election approaches. It is also important to pay attention to what the various platforms are doing to address the problems because the policies adopted by these platforms have implications for digital rights as well. 

Facebook, for example, is deleting accounts at the request of the U.S. & Israeli governments on the bogus grounds of “incitement”. In 2018, the government will collaborate more with ISP’s, Telecoms Companies to censor, limit content etc. 

It will use security agencies to clamp down on bloggers and people who express dissenting views but these will be justified by the need to fight fake news, hate speech and insightful comments. 

Therere is no better indicator to this assertion than the Hate Speech (Prohibition) Bill, 2017 (HB. 1211) sponsored by a member of the ruling All Progressive Party (APC): One of the lows of lawmaking in Nigeria is that the public doesn’t have access to the content of Bills being considered except you have access to insiders, but the name of this Bill gave it away as a likely dangerous Bill which will be used to gag free speech as the 2019 elections approaches.  

Apart from elections, other factors that will shape the Digital Rights and Policy discourse in 2018 are considered below;

NCC Internet Code of Practice: The Nigeria Communications Commissions (NCC) has not done badly with respect to making its draft regulation available for the public and it regularly calls for stakeholder’s input. Where it has erred however is how it sometimes jettison inputs without feedback to those who made the inputs as to why those inputs were not captioned. One wonders if the calls for Stakeholder’s inputs were genuine or it’s just about “fulfilling all righteousness”. The NCC must consider this as an important feedback. The Draft Internet Code of practice, however, appears to be a great initiative and one that promotes the open and free internet. The stated objectives of the code are to: a) Protect the right of Internet users to an Open Internet; b) Provide clear guidelines to Internet Access Service Providers on the use of traffic management practices; c) Outline the obligations of Internet Access Service Providers in relation to the protection of consumers’ personal data; d) Outline the obligations of Internet Access Service Providers in the handling of offensive and potentially harmful content, and the protection of minors online; e) Ensure adequate safeguards are put in place by Internet Access Service Providers against unsolicited internet communications; f) Establish best practices for Internet Governance in Nigeria, in line with emerging issues and global trends. The application of the first part of objective “D” is definitely one to look out for as it is prone to manipulations by the powers that be. Whether this will happen or not is a function of how independent the NCC is. Unfortunately the NCC is rarely independent of the government of the day, neither is there proofs that it queries memo from the office of the National Security Adviser but let’s wait and see how these code will fare when and if it becomes operational.

FCC decision to Repeal Net Neutrality: Federal Communication Commission FCC is the United States of America equivalent of the NCC. In a 3-2 close call, it voted to repeal net neutrality in the United States in December 2017. Someone might wonder how that’s relevant to Nigeria. It is relevant because a lot of countries including Nigeria look up to the United States for policy direction. It must be noted that the NCC has been under pressure before now by telecoms and ISP’s to allow them to apply extra charges for OTT services, this, the NCC resisted over the years. With the development in the US, business interest will have a “legitimate” example in their quest to subdue Net Neutrality principles and milk internet users by discriminating against Internet traffic/applications according to how much internet users are able to pay for desired services. The Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat and online streaming services’ lovers would be largely affected if this happens.

The Positives for Internet Users

Two Important draft legislation is on the verge of becoming Law in Nigeria, The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill (HB 430) which among other reasons situate human rights in the midst of technological innovations to help balance out the need for innovation on one hand, the need for rule of law on the other as emerging National security concerns are addressed. 

Also, Data Protection Bill (HB 02) address the need for Data protection law in Nigeria.  It is hoped that these two legislations which have been passed by the House of Representatives become law by getting the required Senate concurrence and Presidential Assent in 2018. 

These two draft legislation have the potential to militate against any form of abuse and violations, feared, as we prepare for elections.

*Contributed by Adeboye @adeboyeBGO is a Digital Rights Advocate with Paradigm Initiative.

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

x

9Mobile acquisition: NCC clears air, sets new date

ITREALMS:

Apex telecom regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denounced rumours that a preferred bidder has emerged to acquire 9Mobile, formerly Etisalat, reports ITRealms.

NCC, ITRealms gathered also announced a new deadline of January 16, 2018, for the acquisition to be concluded against the earlier date of December 31, 2017., Just as Barclays Africa remained incharge.

Confirming these latest updates to ITRealms, the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, said the attention of the Commission has been drawn to newspaper publications alleging that a preferred bidder has been anointed to acquire 9Mobile.

He described the report as  “speculating on the outcome of the ownership transfer process.”

Ojobo said that for the avoidance of doubt, is following due process, providing six point clarifications, namely:

“1. Barclays Africa remains in full control of the process leading to the emergence of a new owner for the company. Barclays has not authorized any publication on the matter and is obliged to maintain full confidentiality thereon.

“2. An approval of the request for extension of time by the 9Mobile Interim Board was given by the 2 regulators - NCC and CBN. This set the deadline for the receipt of binding offers from the prospective bidders till 16th January 2018.

“3. Contrary to speculations that a “winner” will be announced on the same day (i.e. 16th of January 2018) we wish to clarify that Barclays is expected to review the bids received by the deadline and to make recommendations to the 9Mobile Interim Board thereafter.

“4. The NCC and CBN will be duly notified once the 9Mobile Interim Board accepts Barclays’ recommendations and a winning bid is determined in accordance with the terms of the exercise.

“5. The winner will now apply to NCC in order to commence the processes for securing the regulatory approvals from the Board of the NCC necessary to give full effect to the transfer.

“6. We trust that the foregoing sufficiently clarifies the position of the transaction and that it lays to rest any apprehensions regarding the unfounded media publications on the sale” Ojobo submitted.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Buhari appoints Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, DG, NIA

ITRealms:

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of a substantive Director General for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), reports ITRealms.

The new Director-General, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, ITRealms gathered is a retired career Foreign Service officer, who until his appointment served as Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on Foreign Affairs/International Relations.

Abubakar had a vast experience working with the United Nations in peace support operations, mediation process, preventive diplomacy and good offices, as well as the promotion of good governance and respect for the rule of law and Hunan rights.

Also, he has briefly served as Senior Adviser at the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with headquarters in Ndjamena, Chad, before his appointment as Senior Special Assistant to the President ( SSAP)

Gbemi Omotoso

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!