Confirmed! Cambridge Analytica gives birth to Emerdata

ITREALMS:

The Cambridge Analytica may have shocked the world as it has been discovered to had given birth to Emerdata, reports ITRealms.

On Wednesday, May 2, ITRealms gathered that owners of Cambridge Analytica told media it was shutting down with immediate and liquidating its business.

This, ITRealms had since discovered may have been a cover up to douse the tension the data exposure and attendance controversy brought to Cambridge Analytica, following being at the center of a political firestorm leaked by a former staffer on data-harvesting campaign of some 87 million Facebook users.

Investigations by correspondent, showed that Cambridge Analytica has since been discovered to be the parent organization SCL Elections, whereas Emerdata has same office location with Cambridge Analytica.

According to reports by The Register, the UK's official registrar of businesses and organizations, Companies House, lists an active company named Emerdata Limited as being headquartered at the same offices as SCL Elections and run by much of the same management and investors as Cambridge Analytica. It even describes itself as a "data processing, hosting and related activities" organization.

Dr Alexander Taylor, who was appointed a director of Emerdata on March 28, was hitherto the acting CEO and data wizard Dr Alexander Taylor. Julian Wheatland is an Emerdata director who is also a director within the SCL network of organizations.

Whereas, Messrs Jennifer and Rebekah Mercer were listed as directors of Emerdata, and were the daughters of ultra-wealthy businessman Robert Mercer, who created and bankrolled Cambridge Analytica.

ITRealms reports that billionaire Bob was said to have given tens of millions of dollars to rightwing political efforts. Even as Jennifer and Rebekah were alleged also to have had hands in Cambridge Analytica.

ITRealms further gathered that Emerdata was founded in mid-2017, but became actively operation on the wake of controversies surrounding Cambridge Analytica by early in the year.

Chuks Egbune with additional reports by Shaun Nichols in San Francisco

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Pre-2019: USA to train 100 Nigerian journalists

ITREALMS:

The United States Mission in the country is gearing up to training some 100 Nigerian journalist in preparation for the 2019 general election, reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this on Thursday in Lagos, the Consul General, Mr. John Bray at the occasion of the 2018 World Press Freedom Day, said the training will be for 100 political reporters and editors.

This training, he also said, has been scheduled in four cities across southern Nigeria, and will be co-facilitated by Voice of America’s Director of International Media Training and a renowned Nigerian journalism professor.

Bray explained that this support was designed to help the media further appreciate their huge responsibility of reporting accurately on elections and electoral processes.

He described democratic societies are not infallible but they are accountable, and the exchange of ideas is the foundation for accountable governance.

“Peaceful and credible elections are essential to Nigeria’s continued economic, political, and social development so I am interested in your discussion today on media and the transparence of the 2019 election,” he said.

Nigeria, he also said, plays a vital role on the world stage and as the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s stability is crucial to the security and economic prosperity of the rest of the continent. 

“Nigeria’s future is full of promise and opportunity,” Mr. Bray declared.

The U.S. government, he reiterated, is dedicated to supporting Nigerians in ensuring that the 2019 elections will be transparent, credible, and peaceful.

He charged media to foster active debate, provide investigative reporting, and serve as a forum to express different point of view.

“When people don’t have the facts, they make them up and that creates unstable environments, rife with rumors, gossip and lies,” he said.

Urging Nigerian journalists, to ensure this doesn’t happen, by providing information, researching, conducting interviews, and then educating the electorate. 

“The people of Nigeria rely on your unbiased and accurate coverage of the campaign season and the elections. That is why your role is so important,” he enthused.

Assuring that on the 2019 election, the U.S. Mission will supports journalists effort toward providing objective and balanced reporting to the Nigerian people. 

The U.S. government, he said, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has assisted Nigeria with strengthening the elections process since 1999. 

“Working with Nigerian and international partners, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria has also engaged diplomatically and publicly to prevent violence and increase accountability, contributing significantly to the goal of free, fair, credible, and peaceful elections in Nigeria,” he assured.

Other speakers at the occasion include former chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, Professor Femi Mimiko, Professor of Political Science and Former Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State.

Equally special guest at the occasion comprised President Nigeria Guild of Editors, Ms. Funke Egbemode; Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Dr. Qasim Akinreti and Zonal Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command, Superintendent of Police Dolapo Badmus.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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Dangote rejigs with new appointments for strategic growth

ITREALMS:

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has rejigged with new appointments to sustain the strategic growth across the continent of Africa, reports ITRealms.

The organizational rejig, ITRealms reports includes the appointment of Olakunle Alake the erstwhile Chief Operating Officer (COO) as now the Group Managing Director and Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, the Group Chief Risk Officer has been elevated to the office of Group Executive Director, President’s Office, where she will take on new roles in addition to her schedule as the Risk Officer.

Mrs Fajemirokun, ITRealms gathered is the first ever female executive director in Dangote Group.

The management also announced the appointment of Austine Ometoruwa as Group Executive Director, Corporate Finance and Treasury.

Earlier the Board of Dangote Cement Plc, global, announced the appointment of Cherie Blair and Mick Davies as Independent Non-Executive Directors.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, speaking on the new appointments said “it is exciting seeing a female occupy such a high position. We are gender sensitive and create equal opportunities for both male and female to get to the top.”

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Lighting Africa debuts with Humbrella CSR project

ITREALMS:

The innovation, meant to light up African villages and provide a cost efficient and environmentally friendly solution compared to other sources of energy,  has debut and dubbed ‘Humbrella,’ reports ITRealms.

The project launched at a spectacular event on the 27th of April 2017, ITRealms gathered, is courtesy of China Clean Energy Company, Hanergy Group, is a solar powered umbrella.

Humbrella launch could not have occurred in a more opportune time when the international community is striving to address climate change by implementing an ambitious global agenda with the objective of ensuring access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all by 2030. In addition, on the upcoming Summit Meeting of the Forum on China Africa co-operation, efforts and goals are only re-enforced by the initiative.

Ambassador Mamadou expressed his gratitude for the noble Corporate Social Responsibility act by the Chinese company, further stating his country’s intention to foster even better relations particularly regarding partnerships with Chinese companies on renewable energy.

Hanergy Group Holdings is a multinational clean energy company with a wide range of mobile energy solutions, covering hydropower, wind power and solar power. Thin-film solar power research and development has been the main focus at Hanergy since 2009. Nine years later, the Humbrella launches, providing practical solutions to the ever persistent problem of unstable power supply in Africa.

The Humbrella converts sunshine and stores as much as 4000 mAh electricity, ensuring a 10 hour high quality reading time for children or charging more than 10 3000 mAh smartphones not to mention the 4 USB ports strategically located on the shaft of the umbrella that could be used to plug in lamps small fans, electric insect repellants among others. The product is not only efficient but also environmentally friendly as it leverages thin-film solar power generation to directly convert solar energy into electricity replacing diesel generators thus achieving “zero emission’ energy.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nigerian editors put government to tasks over killed colleagues

ITREALMS:

Editors in the country under the auspices of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have put government to task by asking them to resolve all cases concerning journalists killed by brining perpetrators to book, reports ITRealms.

President of the Guild, Mrs Funke Egbemode in a press statement made available to ITRealms by the General Secretary, Ms Victoria Ibanga on the occasion of World Press Freedom day 2018,  felicitated with colleagues and friends across the country and around the world.

“It is also an occasion to congratulate all journalists around the world especially those in Nigeria and indeed, Africa, on their resolve to weather the storm to remain afloat, in spite of harsh economic conditions and environment,” she said.

Also, she noted that the World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference. The objective was to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the Right to Freedom of Expression, enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since the Declaration of Windhoek, the anniversary is celebrated annually worldwide as World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

This year’s event, she said, called for sober reflection as it also affords us the opportunity to assess the state of press freedom, state of the media in our country and empathise and pay tribute to our colleagues who have lost their lives in the course of performing their Constitutional responsibility, as well as those in different prisons all over the world.

Flowing from the theme of this year’s celebration, “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice", we join all well-meaning organisations such as the United Nations (UN) to call on the government to create an enabling legal environment for press freedom and give special attention to the role of an independent Judiciary in ensuring legal guarantees for press freedom and the prosecution of crimes against journalists.

 It is also important to mention that impunity and all forms of oppressions and molestation must stop. More importantly, governments must begin to treat the Media as an ally in development and nation building.

As a matter of fact, the history of Nigeria cannot be written without a mention of the role the Media played in the struggle for independence, enthronement of democracy and promotion and propagation of social justice and human rights. Having acquitted itself thus, its operators and indeed, journalists, do not deserve to be treated with anything less than respect and decorum in the course of performing their Constitutional responsibility.

  

While we call on governments and the political class to recognise the role of the Media in sustainable development, especially during the forthcoming elections - as a watchdog fostering transparency, accountability and the rule of law, we reiterate the fact that it is the responsibilities of governments and relevant institutions to protect journalists from physical harm and intimidation.

Regrettably, she pointed out that all is not well with the media industry in Nigeria. The cost of production materials is having a devastating effect on daily operations and the survival of the media in general. This development, no doubt, has affected payment of monthly emoluments of media workers, thus creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and in effect, reducing the general morale of journalists in the country.

“While the media industry has supported all other sectors of the economy, it is left to bear the brunt of everything that has gone wrong with the economy. We are losing revenue and forced to reduce manpower. It is important to call the attention of all on a day like this that a nation whose economy does not and cannot support the economy of its Media industry cannot thumb its chest that its press is free. A broke Media industry has no press freedom and is, therefore, far from being free, for as long as the economic shackles are firmly in place.

“On our part as members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, we must collectively play our role in the interest of the generality of Nigerians whose trust we hold by maintaining and observing the highest professional and ethical standards in total compliance with the Code of Ethics of the Journalism profession. We must not allow agents of retrogression to use our platforms to preach hate and extremism under the guise of free speech.

“We call on the government and security agencies to reopen and urgently resolve all pending cases of attacks and killings of Journalists and Media workers in the country and bring perpetrators to book, to serve as deterrent to others.

“While we condole with the families of our colleagues who paid the supreme price in the course of serving humanity, we celebrate all our colleagues who have continually defied the odds to shine the light into the darkest places, hold government accountable to the people and tell compelling stories about our communities and nation. We salute your courage,” Egbemode said.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Moghalu, joins UNWFP to head communications, advocacy

ITREALMS:

Nigerian season brand communicator, Mr Chinedu Moghalu, has been appointed the Senior Communications Specialist cum Head, Communications & Advocacy for the Johannesburg, South Africa-based Africa Risk Capacity / United Nations World Food Programme, reports ITRealms.

The African Risk Capacity, ITRealms gathered, is a specialised agency of the African Union which provides capacity building services for early warning, contingency planning and risk finance towards protecting the livelihoods of their vulnerable citizens against the impact of natural disasters through home-grown, innovative, cost-effective, timely and sustainable solutions.

Moghalu, ITRealms also gathered resumed since March in his latest position and will be leading efforts to ensure that the work of ARC in responding to the challenges of climate change and natural disaster risk management is strategically communicated to the Member States and the international community in a way that secures commitment and boosts resource mobilization.

Before now, Mr. Moghalu, at various times, served as the Regional Head of Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) for the Southeast and Delta states in Nigeria; the Head of the Corporate Communication Division at its headquarters in Abuja.

Prior to NEXIM Bank, Moghalu had over 10 years with various United Nations agencies, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

ITRealms recalls that Chinedu Moghalu holds a M.Sc. degree in Communications for Development, and other degrees in Political Science, and Law from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Lagos, in Nigeria.

Further, Mr. Moghalu is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, International Public Relations Association (IPRA), and sits on the Board of the Chigari Foundation.

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GTB’s Segun Agbaje shortlisted for African Banker Awards 2018

ITREALMS:

… As FBN gets into CSR list

The Managing director of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, Nigeria, Segun Agbaje has been shortlisted among the top four African Bankers for honours at the 2018 ceremony, reports ITRealms.

This is also coming as another Nigerian financial institution, the First Bank Plc, has been shortlisted for the Socially Responsible Bank of the Year.

ITRealms gathered that nominees for the 2018 African Banker Awards have been announced including banks from Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya. Ecobank, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered, which have a large footprint across the continent also feature across several categories.

The Awards, which are hosted by African Banker magazine, will be held during the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the end of May in Busan, South Korea. The finalists, selected by an expert judging panel of bankers and business leaders will be announced at the African Banker Awards ceremony which will take place on Wednesday 22nd May.

Chair of the Awards Committee, Omar Ben Yedder, the Group Publisher and Managing Director of IC Publications Group which publishes African Banker, said that he was once again impressed by the quality and breadth of entries this year.

“We saw McKinsey earlier in the year releasing a very positive report analysing the banking landscape in Africa. The entries reaffirm their findings when they say Africa’s banking market are amongst the most exciting in the world. The categories that caught my eye were innovation in banking – and this year’s entries reflect the transformative role of fintech and also blockchain technology – as well as deal of the year, which is every year a very competitive category.  Equity markets were a little slower in 2017, but we saw some interesting deals on the debt side and also transformative infrastructure financing structures. The quality of the entries, and sophistication of the solutions being presented, reflect a buoyant sector in continuous evolution.”

The awards which are held under the high patronage of the African Development Bank and, are sponsored by The African Guarantee Fund, Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc and the Bank of Industry. Ecobank will be the hosts of the African Banker Awards cocktail reception prior the awards. The Gala Dinner and Awards presentation will take place at the Paradise Hotel, Busan.

Nenye Dom/ED, Ops

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Enhanced Cooperation: What’s next after WGEC2.0?

Commentary@ITREALMS: 

Ordinarily when you review the phrase“Enhanced Cooperation,”it should reflect the etymology of the two words “enhanced” and “cooperation” to indicate that a measure of existing cooperation is being taken to the next level. Yes, this is the intention of the architects of the language to avoid an imminent deadlock at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, 2005.

The European Union (EU) who has successfully used many forms of cooperation to achieve tremendous success over years came to the rescue when countries demanded that they join the US in its historical oversight role on the management of the Critical Internet Resources (CIRs); Internet Address names, numbers and protocol parameters.

It can be recalled that the United States (US) provided initial research funding that resulted in the global networks of networks called the Internet which is managed by interest-motivated volunteers across the US and later the rest of the world. As the Internet became the cornerstone of any modern economy, and governments in the late 1990s began to take note of this critical development enabler, they began to express interest in the management of the Internet which culminated in the convening of the 1^st World Summit on Information Society in Geneva in 2003; and due to inconclusive outcome scheduled another round of Summit for 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia that produced the famous Tunis Agenda (TA).

In the Tunis Agenda are reaffirmation of Action Lines and Targets of the Geneva Action Plan of WSIS 2003 with two important outcomes connected to the management of CIRs namely the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and Enhanced Cooperation (EC). While IGF convened immediately first in Greece in 2006 and every year till the last in Geneva in 2017, Enhanced Cooperation track could “not take-off” as envisaged due to different interpretations by UN member states of the meaning of “Enhanced Cooperation” and the nature of mechanism for its implementation.

I had the privilege to speak though remotely at the 1^st United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UN CSTD) consultative forum on Enhanced Cooperation on International Public Policy Issues pertaining to the Internet in 2012, where I reflected as a matter of fact that EC has been on-going for years even at the bedrock of the Internet.

Without sustained cooperation, networks cannot be built talk-less of network of networks. I also indicated that in the government circle, government has increasingly continued to cooperate on diverse public policy issue pertaining to the Internet. Issues like cybersecurity and cybercrime have seen governments collaborating through Interpol, OECD, EU, G7, etc with positive outcomes like the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and more recently on the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe.

While some stakeholders including governments maintained that EC was already taking place, other governments indicated that EC according to paragraphs 69 to 71 of the TA was yet to begin. The consultation on EC in 2012 led to the convening of the first Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation by a resolution of the UN General Assembly (GA) (paragraph 20-21) asking the Chair of CSTD to establish the WG which convened between 2013 and 2014.

Composed of 22-nation representatives according to UN representation process and 5 representatives each from business, civil society, academic and technical communities; and International organizations with previous hosts of IGFs; the WG could not agree to produce a consensus report due to just one controversial issue - how governments on an equal footing can make decisions on international public policy matters pertaining to the Internet viz-a-viz CIRs. Based on the work of a correspondence group, the WG produced evidence that EC has increasingly been on-going among governments and other stakeholders.

On the strength of increasing evidence of cooperation on International public policies issues pertaining to the Internet, the GA by a resolution in 2015 asked the Chair of CSTD to once again convene another WGEC with the hope of finding a consensus position on the intractable Tunis Agenda outcome.

By the time the WG was to meet in September 30, 2016, the United States Government (USG) had wisely in 2014 announced and begun a process to relinquish its unique oversight function on the Internet. USG said it was in continuation of a planned process begun in 1998 that saw to the creation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private sector-led US registered not-for-profit organisation focused on serving global public interest in ensuring a stable, secure and resilient Internet. The USG through its agency, the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Commerce Department as part of its condition to the global Internet community indicated that it would not subscribe to any government led replacement to its oversight role.

ICANN based on the mandate given by NTIA led the world to produce an acceptable proposal to NTIA that convinced the USG to abandon its oversight function on the Internet on October 1, 2016. This event was like a miracle because a young US Official once told me in Geneva that“I don’t see USG relinquish this role in my life-time.”

USG relinquished its oversight function on the Internet but yet some governments still wanted paragraph 71 implemented to the letter. Most private sector (business, civil society, academic and technical community) and Western Countries including Japan posited that nations can exercise their public policy sovereignty within their borders but not on International Internet public policy issues (IIPPI). But come to think of it, what is wrong if governments on an equal footing have a mechanism to discuss IIPPI? Nothing is really wrong and that was why I proposed for adoption at the WGEC2.0 for the CSTD to continue to provide the platform for governments to discuss IIPPI with full participation of other stakeholders since the CSTD already has in its mandate the responsibility to discuss and make recommendation on public policy issues to the GA through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

This was to be the consensus agreement as many Western countries that hitherto objected to the idea later embraced it in the spirit of compromise. Unfortunately, a handful of countries (e.g. Saudi Arabia) opposed the idea insisting the only idea they supported was the creation of a new Institutional mechanism in the likes of ITU or UNESCO to handle IIPPI. A vast majority did not support the creation of new Institutional mechanism because: 1. the nature of the Internet (which is distributive) does not concentrate control on one entity and 2. it would be expensive considering cost cutting measures within governments across the world not least the United Nations itself.

WGEC2.0 met eight times for 3 days each in Geneva over a 2-year period (2016-2018) under the distinguished chairmanship of Ambassador Benedicto  Fonseca of Brazil, who did from my perspective an outstanding job of co-ordination to the effect that even with high tensions many times and eventual failure of consensus recommendation, all participants remained cordial, hopeful and appreciative of his efforts. The CSTD Secretariat also worked tirelessly and impressively to support the work of the WG.

Nevertheless, the WG agreed on the characteristics of EC including transparency, inclusivity, collaboration, effectiveness, sustainability, responsiveness, peace etc but its failure to agree a position by consensus on paragraph 71 torpedoed many other positive conclusions of the WG.

Perhaps the next line of action is for the subject of EC to continue to be a subject line item on the schedule of the CSTD whenever its convenes its annual meeting. CSTD already has such mandate within its statute anyway.

For me, it has been a great learning experience and a privilege representing business and participating at the cutting edge of global Internet public policy debate as the first African business person in two high profile UN Working Groups and on the same footing with states.

*Contributed by Jimson Olufuye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kontemporary Konsulting, Chairman, Africa ICT Alliance, AfICTA and one of the 5 global business representatives to WGEC 1.0 & 2.0.

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5G university winners get triple applause

ITREALMS:

The American University of Sharjah students have received triple applause from three leading industry players for demonstrating innovative Fifth Generation (5G) use cases as part of the recently concluded university competition, reports ITRealms.

The three industry leaders, ITRealms gathered, included Etisalat, Intel Corporation and Ericsson.

ITRealms also gathered, the trio of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) giants joined forces in February this year to launch the university competition, targeting engineering students from renowned UAE universities, under the theme of ‘Driving the Future of 5G Innovation’. 

Over 20 teams from the American University of Sharjah, Khalifa University and New York University Abu Dhabi competed to best demonstrate 5G use cases. Five of the 21 teams were shortlisted and invited to present their innovative ideas in front of a prestigious jury of industry executives: Khalifa Al Shamsi, Etisalat Group Chief Strategy & Corporate Governance Officer, Petter Järtby, Head of Etisalat Global Customer Unit at Ericsson, and Taha Khalifa, Sales Director, EMEA Territory at Intel evaluated the shortlisted projects.  

Abdullah Ahmed, Jayroop Ramesh, and Saad Aldeen from the American University of Sharjah won first place after presenting their ground-breaking idea of Decentralized Peer to Peer Mobile Devices Cloud computing using 5G technology.

Runner up position went to students Baleegh Ahmad and Doovaraha Maheswarasarma from NYU Abu Dhabi who proposed a solution based on 5G, augmented reality and robotics to optimize and automate operations in the cargo industry.

Finally, Bashar Al Jabery, Marawan El Bardicy and Mustafa Al Jassim from the American University of Sharjah came in third place with their “Wear Hear” use case around using smart glasses, 5G and Edge computing to help individuals with hearing disabilities better communicate and integrate in the society.

The winners were chosen based on certain parameters including their creativity and innovation, their business case potential, their 5G applicability and the benefit and positive impact on the UAE society.

The winning teams will all receive valuable prizes including internship opportunity in Etisalat or Ericsson as well as a one of its kind enrollment opportunity to a tailor made three-month coaching program from Ericsson Garage, which will be kicked off by a full week trip to Ericsson Stockholm.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Experts decry high cost of Internet data in Africa

ITREALMS:

Some digital rights experts have questioned the high cost of Internet data in many African countries, saying the prohibitive cost makes it difficult for many citizens with poor economic means to access the Internet, reports ITRealms.

They made their views known at the just concluded Internet Freedom Forum organised by Paradigm Initiative at the Federal Capital, Abuja, Nigeria.

Speaking at the Forum, the co-founder of Witness Radio, Jess Ssebaggala said, "The Internet is still expensive for too many people in many countries which is a big problem for expanding access. There are too many people below the poverty line in many African countries and it would be difficult to expand access to internet without reducing the cost of access for users."

Also speaking on the subject, the Executive Director of Internet Without Borders, Julie Owono said, "There's no point talking about digital rights when there is no access to digital technologies and the Internet."

Experts who spoke at the 3-Day international forum were drawn from from over thirty African countries. They took their turn to speak on the state of internet in their respective countries and the danger facing the openness of internet.  

For the Director of Programmes of Paradigm Initiative, Tope Ogundipe, “it is obvious from the conversation that so many African countries suffer from blatant rights violations, mostly perpetrated by the government. African countries should invest in expanding access to the internet instead of wasting resources on shutting down the internet and spying on their citizens. In a continent where internet penetration is still below 50%, we should not be begging government not to shut down the internet.”

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Pantami says ICT, panacea to sustain national development

ITREALMS:

… As NITDA emerges MDA of the Year @BoICT’18

The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is panacea to sustaining national development, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as NITDA emerged the NITDA emerged the Government Agency of the Year, while it’s Director General/CEO Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami was proclaimed the Public Sector CEO of the Year, at the just concluded Beacon of Information and Communication Technology (BoICT) Awards held on Saturday at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island Lagos.

Dr Pantami, represented by the Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations Unit of NITDA, Hajiya Hadiza Umar, said in a keynote address that, the theme, ‘Leveraging ICT Value for Building Institutions’, aligns well with the growing movement to use ICT to foster sustainable development in institutions.

This theme, he said, is echoed in both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.

“Accountable, inclusive, effective and smart institutions are necessary to achieve the SDGs, whether the goal is quality education, zero hunger, improved healthcare, economic growth or innovation. All the goals are to be driven by institutions and ICT provides a ready tool to attain these goals,” Pantami said.

He revealed that Nigerians, institutions and indeed the nation can experience a high level of sustainable development through the effective use of ICT, stressing that “data is the new oil and organisations can now use data to create wealth”

Citing example with an average smartphone which he said, could have as many as 10 sensors. And with about 144 million active mobile lines in Nigeria, a sizable portion of which are smartphones, potentially giving us access to large volumes of data. With Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics, such data can be translated into actionable insights for that would lead to sustainable development in the country, he noted.

While urging captains of industries in the ICT sector to support ICT capacity building efforts both within their institutions and within the ICT Startup ecosystem, he stressed that the future of the ICT industry depends on it.

He added that, “as a country we expend vast sums to deploy ICT solutions both in the public and the private sectors but some of these projects are not sustainable because the main parts of the project are deployed and sustained by foreign partners. The Executive Orders #3 and #5 and the NITDA Local Content Guidelines aim to check this. It is important that the ICT industry supports the implementation of these Orders and Guidelines as they are the surest way of building our institutions and developing the ICT sector of our dear nation.”

The climax of the event witnessed honours of awards to deserving institutions, organisations and individuals who were voted online by ICT stakeholders and the general public.  NITDA emerged the Government Agency of the Year while it’s Director General/CEO Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is the Public Sector CEO of the Year.

The event has in attendance Dr Leo Stan Ekeh, Founder/Chairman, Zinox Group and Chairman of the occasion; former NCC, EVC Dr Ernest Ndukwe, Chairman, Open Media Group; Femi Adeoti, Managing Director Inlaks; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director Rack Centre; Ike Nnamani, President/ CEO of Medallion Communications Limited; Mr Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria(ATCON) among others.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Smart City, tech hub investment to leverage growth across globe

ITREALMS:

With more interest in investing in technology innovation hubs as part of a Smart City investment strategy is critical to leveraging economic growth and bridging the development gap across emerging markets globally, reports ITRealms.

This is coming on the heels of the Middle East and Africa, slated for June this year, gets underway and tagged Smart Cities Global Summit 2018.

The Strategic Technology Advisor, Smart City Algiers, Dr Riad Hartani, said by implementing Smart City Strategies should be seen as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.

“It provides the opportunity to leverage new leapfrog technologies, innovations models and investment strategies to adapt the various economic development roadmaps into an Internet and data first era, which will be with us for the coming decades" Hartaini said.

He also noted that the recent official launch of the Algiers Smart City Live Experimentation Lab and Technology Innovation Hub (www.SmartCityAlgiers.com) in Algiers, “is one of the pragmatic steps mapping such strategies into actions.” 

Further, he said, “From an emerging world perspective, smart cities strategies provide a catalyst framework to fundamentally address the key obstacles to fast tracking development: a relative isolation from the leading high tech innovation clusters, a high level of dependency on advanced technologies providers with little transfer of technology, and a fairly low level of confidence in building their own technology startup champions.”

ITRealms gathered that over 150 international speakers and 4,000 delegates, representing leading technology investors, Founders and CEOs, as well as government representatives, Smart City leaders and Industry Heads will feature at the two-day summit.


Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Consortium proceeds with Interim Phase on rail concession process

ITREALMS:

Following its award of preferred bidder status by the Federal Government of Nigeria in May 2017, an International Consortium last Friday in Washington D.C, signed an agreement to proceed with the Interim Phase of the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession, reports ITRealms.

Initiated by General Electric, the world’s premier digital industrial company, the Consortium is comprised of SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corporation, Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider.

In the interim phase of the rail concession, Remedial Works will be carried out on part of the narrow-gauge rail line system to make it technically and economically operable. Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the Consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) with an initial supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria.

This program is expected to deliver an increase in the number of available locomotives, thus increasing the frequency of passenger and freight rail services. In addition, freight haulage capacity by the end of the first 12 months of the interim phase is expected to increase roughly ten-fold, from its current less than 50,000 metric tonnes per annum to about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Speaking on the occasion, Lazarus Angbazo, CEO of GE Nigeria said “GE is committed to the sustainable development of Nigeria and as such we are delighted to have reached this crucial stage of the project to revamp and revitalize the country’s legacy rail infrastructure system. The Consortium looks forward to commencing execution of this Interim Phase with the continued support of the Federal Government and the Ministry of Transportation. As operations begin, our strong partners, such as Transnet and SinoHydro, will bring their strong operating and development skills to the forefront.”

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BOICT Awards 2018 says Best ICT Clearinghouse is Medallion

ITREALMS:

The telecommunications infrastructure servicing company, Medallion Communications Limited, has been adjudged the best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Clearing House of the Year 2018, reports ITRealms.

This was proclaimed, at the Beacon of Information and Communications Technology Awards, organized by Communication Week Media, last weekend at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

But reacting to the award, the Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Communications Limited, Mr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, told ITRealms that as a company, it is exciting because receiving the award goes to show the ICT industry recognizes Medallion’s contributions to the industry, which reports says is presently contributing 10 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“We are happy for the awards we got at the Beacon of ICT event. It is a testament that the industry has continued to recognize the work we do and the contribution we are making to the industry,” Nnamani said.

Also, ITRealms gathered that Mr. Nnamani, was pronounced the ICT Enterpreneur of the Year, admitted the award is also a call for more effort from Medallion so that the company, touted as Nigeria’s Telecom House will be recognized and win future awards.

“The award tells us that people are watching and are appreciative of the effort we have been putting into making the Nigerian telecom industry more vibrant and efficient.  It also shows that hard work has its rewards so we will keep working hard and adding value to the telecom industry in Nigeria,” Nnamani reiterated.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Buhari insists, herdsmen don’t carry AK47 but sticks

ITREALMS:

Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday offered another round of defense for the traditional herdsmen, saying they do not carry guns, but sticks, reports ITRealms.

Buhari who was a guest to the Oval Office and hosted by President Donald Trump, told him that herdsmen in Nigeria “do not carry guns but only wield sticks and occasionally machetes.”

ITRealms gathered from reports monitored in Lagos, that Buhari insisted the herdsmen crisis has been an age-long challenge in Nigeria.

“The problem of herders in Nigeria is a very long historical thing. The Nigerian herders don’t carry anything more than a stick and occasionally a matchet to cut down foliage and give it to their animals, these ones are carrying AK-47.

“So, people should not underrate what happened in Libya. 43 years of Ghaddaffi, people were recruited from the Sahel and trained to shoot and kill. With the demise of Ghaddaffi they moved to other countries and region and carried the experience with them,” he said.

President Buhari added that this is what is aggravating herdsmen crisis in Nigeria. He also appreciated the United States government for assisting in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency and for US military presence in Nigeria.

“We are grateful to the United States for agreeing to give us the aircraft that we asked for. We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military officials in Nigeria. Our institutions in Nigeria, for training them and going to the Northeast to see how they are performing.

“The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have fast earned experience from that and we are grateful for it,” he said.

Ayo Midele/GEE with additional report from ChannelsTv.

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