AfTLD names Nigerian Eyitayo Iyortim, president – ITREALMS

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The Africa Top Level Domains Organization (AfTLDs) Executive Committee has named Mrs Eyitayo Iyortim from Nigeria (.NG) as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee and President of the organization, reports ITREALMS.

The Executive Committee arising from its session in Nairobi at the weekend, informed ITREALMS, that Mrs. Iyortim would be deputized by Prof Idrissa Sarr, Vice President, Manager of the .SN ccTLD.

Aligning organization with programme in Leftist politics

Commentary@ITREALMS:

One major problem limiting the national effectiveness and impact of the Nigerian Left in the country’s politics—at least since the end of the (1967-1970) Civil War—has been the contradictions (or “disconnect”) between organization and programme. Put more concretely: The inability of the organizations of the Left to fully and satisfactorily accomplish the tasks they assign themselves through the employment of the structures, means and methods fashioned by them—and therefore available to them—has been a major limiting factor in its national effectiveness and impact in Nigerian politics.

As the Left now prepares to “diversify” its politics by participating in future electoral contests through combinations and alliances, it is necessary to step up the struggle against this almost chronic weakness. The following recollection is a statement and an illustration of the problem. Some details that are inappropriate here and, in any case, irrelevant to this discussion, are left out of the narrative.

Sometime in the second half of 1988, a fairly large number of Nigerian socialists met in the university town of Nsukka. They had come from the four corners and centre of the country. It was at the height of General Babangida’s dictatorship when the regime was trying to institute—or, perhaps, more correctly, institutionalize—a form of “military democracy” or “diarchy”. Dialectically, it was also at the height of Marxist vanguardism in the Nigerian Left.

Most of the persons who were present at the all-night (necessarily underground) meeting were in the forefront of the various struggles being waged at the time by three popular-democratic organizations that were particularly under state and ruling-class attack: the labour movement organized principally under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliates, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

A few other participants—among them the conveners and coordinators of the meeting—were either not known in the open struggles at all (except possibly to the security forces) or were seen by the public as journalists or mere ideological supporters. One or two of the embattled popular-democratic organizations were, at the time, also holding well-publicised and open conferences at or around Nsukka. These two tactics—the existence and deployment of doubly underground conveners and coordinators and a revolutionary meeting taking place on the sidelines of open conferences—were well-practiced and effective covers—as it seemed, and as we believed.

I travelled from Lagos where I was serving as member of the Editorial Board and Acting Editorial Page Editor of The Guardian. First, I stopped in Calabar, my “base”. There I linked up with other members of the Calabar Group of Socialists. From Calabar our delegation moved to Nsukka in three groups along three different routes.

The agenda of the meeting should, by now, be obvious. Its core can be divided broadly into two. The first was our response to the regime’s clampdown on the leading organizations of the popular masses and the Nigerian Left. The second was the review of Babangida’s transition programme and our attitude to it. The agenda’s ancillary items included organizational structure and coordination; finance and “logistics”; local struggles; and “general”. The ancillary items were regarded as secondary, subsidiary or merely supportive. That was the Nigerian Left 30 years ago. But with the benefit of hindsight, I now regret that the so-called ancillary issues were not organically integrated into the agenda of that meeting and of similar meetings of that period.

The so-called “general” issues unbelievably included the national question, the gender question and general democratic questions that continually assailed and still assail what we used to call “bourgeois politics”. These other issues, as well as questions relating to organizational structures, finance and “logistics” were just mentioned as delegates were looking at their watches and calculating how long it would take them to move out of Nsukka or get to the bus stations!

This near-neglect of issues in “bourgeois politics”, internal organization and “logistics” is a heritage that must now be buried—because I believe it has been rejected by the movement of history. We may call this problem the “dialectics of organization and programme” or “aligning organisational structure with what is to be done” or the “correlation of what is to be done and how to do it”.

The all-night meeting opened around 9.00 pm. Choosing a presiding officer and two deputies and endorsing the composition of the secretariat took almost an hour because it was a meeting of representatives of several groups, each protective of its “autonomy” and afraid of “domination”. Those who convened the meeting had merely deployed their personal authority—ideological, moral and political—to do so. The solution of this preliminary procedural problem later became the foundation of a bigger problem, as will soon be seen.

Participants who were eventually chosen as presiding and recording officers—that is, the trustees of the meeting – came from different locations and belonged to different groups. The meeting, as expected, went on to take strategically important decisions. The implementation committees were constituted by random nominations. The grave shortcomings of this all-important meeting for which patriotic and courageous Nigerians took great risks—convinced that this was necessary to save the nation from creeping neo-fascism—began to emerge shortly after the meeting had ended and delegates had sung the “Solidarity” and “Internationale” and embarked on their homeward trips.

The theoretical expectation was that the presiding officers and recorders would assemble after the meeting to confirm and “tidy up” the records especially the decisions reached—and communicate same to “stakeholders” by the usual methods and channels. The various implementation committees were also expected to hold brief meetings to confirm both their memberships and how to carry out their assignments.

They were also expected to appoint convener(s) and coordinator(s). The tragedy was that these expectations were largely unmet before dispersal. If the presiding officers and recorders and the implementation committees had met they would have discovered that since their memberships were dispersed across the country and both the individuals and their primary organizations were not buoyant enough to permit them to travel around as necessary, they must find other ways of carrying out their assignments. But these other meetings did not take place—because the main meeting was deemed to have ended. The result was a catalogue of grave shortcomings in the execution of assignments.

This trend, which my own generation met in the early 1970s, continued until the meeting in Calabar in April 1989. That Calabar meeting of the Nigerian Left took place on the sidelines of a conference organized by the NLC to consider the formation of a Labour Party. At the end of the Left meeting, an empowered 12-member Coordinating Committee—each member representing a primary group—was appointed. But, beyond this, the meeting appointed a 2-member Secretariat based in Lagos. The two members were serious, committed and experienced; they also had a history of working together; their places of work were close; and one of them had a full secretarial support to offer the Secretariat.

These two simple steps—appointing a fully representative and empowered Coordinating Committee and setting up a working Secretariat—caused a great positive leap in the post-Civil War effort to found a nationally-based organization of the Nigerian Left. Another historic leap would be made if the Left, as Left, not only “diversifies” into electoral politics—or bourgeois politics—but also aligns its organization accordingly. And, in trying to do this, the Left may need to re-possess and then revise, thus recreating, their inherited theory of organisation called democratic centralism. With the internet and the social media creatively employed the new leap could be a double or triple one!

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

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Elombah.com, a responsible media, not a terrorist organization - Ogannah

ITREALMS:

Elombah.com has been described as a responsible media organization and not a terrorist, neither is it championing Biafra terrorism, as being alleged in some quarters, reports ITRealms.

The President, Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN), Mr. Austyn Ogannah gave this description while responding to arraignment of Elombah.com and some of its senior editorial team on Thursday, insisting Elombah.com is a dependable media organization.

“Elombah.com is a responsible media organization. It is not a terrorist organization and neither is it championing Biafra terrorism,” he declared.

ITRealms gathered that Ogannah concerns arose from claims by the Nigeria Police Force of its members conspiracy to commit terrorism offences and cybercrime because over an opinionate article on their website, which the police see as uncomplimentary and offensive.

Hence, the Nigerian Police today, Thursday arraigned Timothy Elombah and Daniel Elombah over allegations of terrorism and cybercrime in allegation to cyber stalking, cyber bullying and for ‘championing Biafra terrorism’.

Ogannah, therefore, called on the police to withdraw the “spurious charges” without delay and stop harassing journalists for doing their constitutionally backed assignments. 

ITRealms further gathered that a four-count charge filed at the Federal High Court 5 in Abuja by the Police revealed the Elombah brothers are being charged for cyber bullying and cyber stalking the Inspector General Of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris.

Ogannah said its worrisome by the police’s claim that the accused who are carrying out their social responsibility, which is enshrined in the constitution, intend to “create native war and lead to breakdown of law in the country.”

“The claim is not only ridiculous, but also disgraceful of the police force under the care of Idris,” he declared.

Ogannah said in the statement: “It is laughable that the police force under whose watch 110 female teenage students were kidnapped from their dormitory at the Government Girls Technical Science College, Dapchi, Yobe State, can shamelessly descend so low to the extent of filing fabricated charges against the two journalists who are contributing their own quota to National development.

“The reputable media organization has stated that they have nothing to do with the publication in question, because it was neither written by the Editor or Publisher or any staffer and there is nothing in Elombah.com that promotes terrorism in Nigeria.

“It is to be noted that the online medium has published series of articles against the activities of Boko Haram in the country and other acts of terrorism, so linking it with the activities of IPOB is a joke taken too far,” he said.

Nonye Dom/GEE

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Miyetti Allah is terrorist organization – CAN insists

ITREALMS:

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) a terrorist organistion, reports ITRealms.

They also called on Federal Government and well-meaning entities and organisations like the United Nations and United States of America (USA) to chorus their declaration by designating Miyetti Allah, appropriately.

Speaking through its General –Secretary, Rev. Dr. Musa Asake, at the National Christian Centre, Tuesday, CAN said that declaration of Miyetti Allah as a terrorist organization is long over-due, 

They urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately overhaul the National Security Council with a view to sharing its membership equally between Christians and Muslims and possibly those who do not belong to either.

CAN equally said that Miyetti Allah has proved beyond doubts that its mission is not merely to breed cattles,  describing as hugely unfortunate the backing such a group is enjoying from current security agencies in Nigeria, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr. Ibrahim Idris Kpotum, particularly, given his recent utterances.

According to CAN scribe, Miyetti Allah has exhibited and committed genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Christians, especially the minorities in the Middlebelt.

"The Myetti Allah organisation should be tagged a terrorist organisation. Its leaders should be arrested and prosecuted for the genocide against the Christian minorities in the Middlebelt," CAN insisted.

CAN pointed out that the overhauling of the security apparatus of the country should start with the immediate replacement of the IGP Idris.

“We call for immediate replacement of the Inspector General of Police because our security can no longer be guaranteed.”

While advising President Buhari to eschew appointments built on religion, CAN said “No religion has a monopoly of competency, commitment and patriotism.”

Further, they called for immediate redeployment of all the Commissioners of Police nationwide, condemning in strong terms the attempt by this pro-Fulani government to introduce “cattle colonies.”

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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ALAC accredits 200th organization as At-Large Structures

ITRealms:

The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) has accredited the 200^th organization as an At-Large Structure (ALS), reports ITRealms.

Director at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Policy unit for At-Large Community, Ms Heidi Ullrich, said history was made with this record on Thursday, June 23, 2016.

“On 23 June 2016, we celebrate an exciting milestone in history of At-Large Community,”  she said.

According to Ullrich from the Arctic to the Cook Islands, ALSes form the basis of the At-Large community, which represents the best interests of Internet users in ICANN’s multistakeholder model. 

“Across the world’s five geographic regions, 92 countries and territories now have ALSes, with 42 ALSes in Africa, 44 in Asia Pacific, 37 in Europe, 50 in Latin America and the Caribbean Islands, and 27 in North America,” she said.

ITRealms reports that since September 2003 when the first ALS, the Internet Society Italy Chapter, was accredited, the At-Large Community has seen a steady increase of ALSes.

“In the past five years, the At-Large Community has gained approximately 14 ALSes each year,” she disclosed emphasizing that an ALS is a wholly independent organization from ICANN, whether it is an Internet-related consumer rights groups or an academic organization, ALSes share the passion in furthering the development of Information and Communication Technologies and contributing to policy activities that influence the technical coordination of the Domain Name Systems.

“In fact, about 33% ALSes are Internet Society Chapters,” she declared.

Further, she pointed out that the ALS accreditation process recognizes that these groups meet ICANN’s criteria for involving individual Internet users at the local or issue level, as well as for promoting individuals’ understanding of and participation in ICANN.

“Within ICANN, they actively contribute to policy advice development activities and play a key role in ICANN’s regional outreach strategies and civil society engagement. They work to ensure that the Internet continues to serve the global public interest,” the director said.

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Four-year agenda: Cybersecurity tops CTO priority for Commonwealth countries - Taylor

ITRealms:

The secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Mr. Shola Taylor has said that cybersecurity is on top of the priority list of agenda the organization has for Commonwealth countries for the next four years, reports ITRealms.

Speaking recently to over 100 government officials and industry executives who took part BT-hosted Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum 2016 in London, Taylor said that working with member countries on making cyberspace safer and resilient is a top priority for the London-based organisation over the next four years.

Mr Taylor made it clear that while “the open, decentralised nature of cyberspace has empowered individuals, fostered innovation and driven development, it also presents dangers for its users,” hence, cyberspace could be used for criminal activities by targeting individuals through identity fraud, targeting the vulnerable through child exploitation, targeting communities through extremism and even targeting whole countries, and was quick to add that the experiences of Estonia in 2007 being one example.

“This year’s event is our opportunity to understand new forms of cyberthreats and cybercrime and learn about new and effective ways to mitigate or eradicate them, particularly through international cooperation. With this in mind, I am pleased to announce here today that our Council has just approved our 2016 - 2020 strategic plan which makes cybersecurity one of our top priorities”, Taylor said.

ITRealms reports that CTO, is already working with a number of Commonwealth countries such Botswana, Cameroon, Fiji and Uganda to help develop their national cybersecurity strategies, and the challenges and outcomes of this ongoing work were presented at the London event.

Taylor said that key issues addressed at the conference include economic growth and innovation in cyberspace; legislative frameworks; data privacy and security risks; defending and protecting critical information infrastructure, including space communication infrastructure; international cooperation, including capacity and trust building; and combating cyberterrorism among others.

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NCC, ATCON disagree on Broadband penetration target

ITRealms:

Apex telecom regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and umbrella industry organisation, the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have disagreed over the achievable broadband penetration by December 2018, reports ITRealms.

According to the National Broadband Plan (NBP) designed to accelerate broadband from six per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent by 2018 is causing some ripple between the two entities.

Whereas NCC a is projecting attainable broadband penetration at 30 per cent, ATCON said its not attainable by the estimated deadline.

At the time of filing this report, ITRealms gathered that both NCC and ATCON agreed that at least between 2012 and December 2014 that Nigeria was able to garner 10 per cent broadband penetration.

For NCC, they are ready and are working towards this projection of attaining the remaining 20 per cent before end of December 2018, but ATCON argued that the road map has some hiccups thereby making the projection unrealistic.

NCC a had in a recent forum in Lagos, through its Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah, disclosed the intention and resolve of the commission to meet up with the remaining 20 per cent as set in the National Broadband Plan for a 30 per cent inroad to be made in 2018, stressing to ITRealms that as matter of fact had begun the journey to actualize this.

But reacting to this projection, ATCON president,  Mr. Lanre Ajayi, expressed doubt as to the readiness of the telecoms industry to achieve the remaining 20 per cent broadband penetration within the targeted three years.

Ajayi ITRealms gathered made this known while receiving an award by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Lagos pointed that the industry is backward in broadband.

“Currently, we are not doing well in the area of broadband as we have done in the voice segment. In the voice segment, we keep meeting and surpassing forecasts.So, at the rate at which we are going in the area of broadband growth, I am afraid we may not be able to meet the 30 per cent penetration by 2018,” he said.

The ATCON president who is also a member of Broadband Council urged the government of president Muhammadu Buhari to accelerate the implementation of the broadband plan, while noting that aside challenges around land-mile broadband deployment, telecoms operators’ access to adequate spectrum bands is key to ensuring faster broadband network deployment, adding that the NCC should be transparent in its spectrum licensing activities.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE

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Pix:Juwah and Ajayi

Oracle partners MTN to train 2,000 MTNF Scholars in ICT

ITRealms:

In a bid to bridge Information and Communication Technology skills acquisition gap in Nigeria, technology solution company, Oracle Corporation and MTN Foundation (MTNF) have planned to train up to 2,000 MTNF scholars in database design, SQL and Java programming skills, as well, fund one student to attend the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) open-lab Summer School in Switzerland reports ITRealms.

Speaking on the collaboration, ITRealms gathered that, Mr. Adebayo Sanni, Country Manager, Oracle Nigeria, said the initiative focuses on teaching database design, SQL and Java programming skills to MTN Foundation Scholars, using Oracle Academy curriculum and hosted online learning materials. “Students will be taught by two trained faculty from the Ajayi Crowther University and Aived International who have attended and passed the formal Oracle Academy faculty training courses.” He said. 

Sanni also added that, “With the rapid adoption of technology in Nigeria, it is imperative that students are equipped with the right skills to take advantage of career and entrepreneurial opportunities.”

On the MTNF Scholarship Scheme, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck said it’s a corporate social responsibility which covers students’ tuition, books and pocket allowance helping to reduce poverty as well as foster sustainable development in Nigeria.

According to Goodluck, it is renewable provided recipients maintain a minimum of 3.5 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in their course of study and an overall 2.5 CGPA.

Equally, ITRealms learnt that MTN in collaboration with its partner, have selected to fund Mufutau Akuruyejo, a computer science student of the University of Lagos, who emerged the best student from Africa, at a global academic competition, organized by CERN, for a nine week training programme on ICT in Switzerland.

The highly competitive student programme, ITRealms gathered is a cornerstone of CERN open-lab and recieved over 1,500 applications from all over the globe this year.

Sanni, who confirmed this, ITRealms learnt, said that the support from Oracle in funding Akuruyejo to Switzerland for ICT training would assist Nigeria in bridging ICT skills gap in the country. He said Oracle has been involved in several partnerships with state governments to further drive technology development across the country.

CERN open-lab was created more than 10 years ago to tackle computing, data, and infrastructure challenges, with summer school which also focuses on research and development activities in the ICT space.

Akuruyejo, an MTNF scholar, ITRealms gathered will be the first Nigerian student to participate in the annual CERN open-lab nine week programme.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE

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Samsung, UNESCO partner to bridge Digital gap at Oban Community

ITRealms:

Rural dwellers in Oban community, Akamkpa local government of Cross River State has breathed an air of relief as Samsung Electronics West Africa partners with United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to launch its Digital village project which will provide access to the world’s most advanced information and communication technologies, education and health services to under-resourced areas, bridging the digital divide and serving as a catalyst for local business development and government service delivery, ITRealms reports.

In a report presented by UNESCO at the launch, ITRealms learnt that out of 100 million children who are school dropouts, 58 million did not complete primary education, while healthcare in remote areas is non-existent due to shortage of facilities and urban-rural gap.

Mr. Brovo Kim, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics West Africa, speaking on the initiative said that a sizeable proportion of rural areas across the continent do not have access to electricity, resulting in isolated communities with limited access to education, healthcare and connectivity, which are necessary components of socio-economic development.

“We are not only bridging the digital divide but also providing a facility that meets the most critical health and education needs of the rural community,” he said.

ITRealms gathered that the components of the Samsung Digital Village include: a Solar Powered Internet School, built to accommodate up to 24 learners; a Solar Powered Tele-Medical Centre, and a Solar Power Generator that powers up the Admin Centre which can be used as office space for local entrepreneurs and any other nearby school or community centre personnel with limited electricity supply.

Equally, in addition to providing the appropriate technologies, Samsung is also working to ensure that people of the Oban community take ownership of the Digital Village and receive adequate training to optimise use of the facilities.

ITRealms learnt that Samsung Electronics Company Limited is a global leader in consumer electronics and the core components that go    into them and has through relentless innovation and discovery, transformed the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE

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