Minister @St Andrews centenary, insists on religious tolerance - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has stressed the need for peaceful co-existence between Christian and Muslim faithful in order to engender peace and unity in the country, reports ITREALMS.

The Minister made the remarks in Oro, Kwara State, on Thursday at the centenary celebration of the Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church Oro, saying that the massive socio economic development that has been witnessed in Oro over the years is largely due to the religious harmony in the town.

He said the lessons learnt from the 100 years of the existence of the Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church in his hometown of Oro is that of tolerance and peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims.

Alhaji Mohammed, who attended the centenary Mass in the church, recalled that the premises of the Church was the venue, for three consecutive years of his Annual Ramadan Lecture.

“Not only are we witnessing 100 years of Catholicism in Oro but actually we also witnessed 100 years of peaceful co-existence between Christianity and Islam and I think to me this is the most significant mark of this particular event.

“I think the lesson to learn is that no religion preaches violence, no religion preaches hatred, every religion preaches peace and we should all borrow a leaf from what is happening in this small town so that all Nigerians can live together in peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to ensuring the safe release of Leah Sharibu, the remaining hostage from the Dapchi kidnap.

“As for Leah Sharibu, our message to Nigerians is that they should appreciate that as far as we are concerned, any of our citizens, whether boy or girl, whether Muslim or Christian, is dear to us. We do not look at Leah Sharibu from the prism of religion, we look at her as a daughter of this country. We are doing our best to ensure the safe release of Leah Sharibu,” he said.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Pix: Front row: Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle); Coadjutor Bishop of Ilorin Diocese, Most Reverend Paul Adegboyega (second from left); the Catholic Bishop of Ilorin, Most Reverend Ayo-Maria Atoyebi (second right); the APC Governorship Candidate in Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (extreme right) and the Parish Priest of Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church, Oro, Reverend Father Joseph Awoyale (back row second to the right) at the centenary celebration of the Catholic Church in Oro, Kwara State on Thursday.

Johnson, NCC boss endorse ICTMedia Centenary Awards

ITRealms:

                                                                       …..Ndukwe, NITDA, NIMC Too

The biggest and the first ever ICT Centenary awards in commemoration of the revolutionary milestones in the ICT ecosystem in Nigeria has received the nod of Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. (Mrs) Omobola Johnson and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah who both described the ICT Centenary Award as a positive development in recognition of individuals and corporate entities that toiled to create the values that are currently being globally celebrated as landmark achievements in the ICT ecosystem in Nigeria.

Other industry leaders that have openly embraced the event include the immediate past EVC of NCC and Chairman of OpenMedia, Dr Ernest Ndukwe, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack and the Director General National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Barrister Chris ‘E. Onyemenam. These industry leaders expressed their support for the programme when a delegation of the promoters of the event visited them at different times in Lagos and Abuja.

While receiving a delegation of the ICT Media Initiative, a coalition of all ICT media practitioners (print, online and broadcasting), in Nigeria, the Minister told the team comprising of Messrs Aaron Ukodie (Chairman), Ken Ugbechie (co-chairman), Remmy Nweke (Secretary), Segun Oruame, Bayero Agabi, Olubayo Abiodun and Mrs. Ufuoma ‘Daro that celebrating the achievements in the ICT sector and the individuals who have distinguished themselves is worth the drive and she promised to lend the support of her ministry to the successful hosting of the event.

Though the Minister emphasised that the ICT sector of the Nigeria economy was yet to attain its full potential and expressed the need for all stakeholders, both public and private sectors, to synergise in maximising the opportunities that the nation can derive from the sector, she nonetheless approve of the need to give rewards to deserving players in the ecosystem. She particularly endorsed the plan by the Media Initiative to confer an award on President Goodluck Jonathan. ‘Considering what the president has achieved in the ICT sector, he deserves an award’, Johnson said.

While saying that so much has been achieved in the past decade worth celebrating, the Minister advised the organisers of the events to ensure a befitting ceremony worthy of emulation.

Mrs. Johnson also pledged the Ministry’s intervention in the area of capacity building for media practitioners, while acknowledging that the Ministry was also faced with the enormous challenges of skills gap which she hopes to address with numerous hands-on capacity building workshops from where some media practitioners could be embedded. According to her, the Ministry of Communications Technology is faced with budgetary constraints which will not make it affordable to organise dedicated workshops for media practitioners.

Speaking in similar fashion while welcoming the group to his office in Abuja, Dr. Juwah commended the ICT Media Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, for deeming it worthy to articulate the bold steps that the leadership of the NCC had taken in the last few years to sustain the growth pattern in the ICT sector of the economy.

While throwing the weight of the Commission behind the event, he urged the NGO to continue its positive advocacy campaign on the significant strides that have been achieved by all the players in the ICT sector.

The Director-General of both NITDA and NIMC also commended the ICT Media Initiatives for the bold move at rewarding individuals and institutions that have impacted on the ICT for development within the Nigerian space.

“Let me assure you that I am favourably disposed to your programme, and would like to see your conference succeed. It is a good idea to come up with a the non-governmental agency, as it will provide a platform for you to seek information, knowledge and a consensus.

“I spent 15 years in policy advocacy in this country when I was in the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, so I can see the role of a very good platform where ideas can be vitalised, more so when it is taken from the slogan of the NESG which says, ‘we came to serve’, Onyemenanm said.

“ We will explore how we can work with you to have a proper commitment and to develop the capacity building and  actualise your aims”, Jack said.

Mr. Jack reeled out a number of institutional initiatives that are in the pipelines by the leadership of NITDA to further boost the on-going efforts to transform Nigeria to a digital society both in governmental inter-relationship and communal interactions. 

He too emphasised his commitment to avail media practitioners of both local and international support for capacity building that would positively impact the contribution of journalism to national development.

During the separate visits, Mr. Ukodie had informed his hosts that the one -day event which will hold in Abuja comprise of a Conference which shall take place in the day and an Award Ceremony, in the evening.

According to him, the main theme of the conference is: ICT in the Nigerian Centenary: Matching towards a Connected Nigeria. “We have also slated other sub-themes for discussion. One of the sub-themes is: Broadband, for a connected Nigeria and prosperity.

The conference is intended to sustain the current growth and momentum of discourses and actions that would culminate in the cost-effective deployment of broadband. This fittingly complements the efforts of the Federal Government as exemplified by the inauguration of the National Broadband Initiative,” he said.

He said that ICT Media Initiative is a synergy across three entrepreneurial media groups namely the ICT Publishers Alliance (ICTPA) – comprising leading ICT publications; Business and TechnologyNews Publishers Foundation (BTPF) - made up of business and technology publishers, editors and very senior news managers across Nigeria; and Nigeria ICT Broadcast Network (NIBN).

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pix: L-r: Remmy Nweke, secretary, ICTMedia Initiative, CommTech Minister, Dr. Omobola Johnson, chairman, Aaron Ukodie, vice chairman, Ken Ugbechie, Bayero Agabi during a courtesy call by the group in Abuja recently.

Adenuga is centenary entrepreneur par excellence

ITRealms:

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the weekend on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria awarded the Chairman of Nigeria's national telecoms operator, Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr for entrepreneurial excellence, as part of the activities marking the nation’s centenary, reports ITRealms.

Dr. Adenuga was bestowed with the prestigious award in the category of ‘Accomplished Contemporary Entrepreneurs’ Friday night at the grand finale of the celebrations of the centenary anniversary organized to mark 100 years of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria.

ITRealms gathered that the Federal Government had as part of his citation described Adenuga as a distinguished entrepreneur and renowned employer of labour in Nigeria.

99 other eminent Nigerians were honored at the event in various categories ranging from "Contributors to the Making of Nigeria" to "Heroes of the Struggle for Nigeria's Independence/Pioneer Political leaders", "Pioneers in Professional Callings/Careers", "Pioneers in Commerce and Industry", "Promoters of Democracy in Nigeria", "Heroes in Global Sports Competition", "Accomplished Pioneer Public Servants", "Accomplished Contemporary Entrepreneurs", "Distinguished Academics", "Internationally  Acclaimed Artists, Literary Icons and Journalists," "Outstanding Bravery and Public Spiritedness", "Outstanding Promoters of Unity, Patriotism and National Development" and "Exemplary Service in the Promotion of Peace and Moral Excellence".

The awardees were officially given their awards at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

Dr. Adenuga, who is also the Chairman of the Mike Adenuga Group, has been variously recognized for his exploits in the business world, his commitment to philanthropy and local empowerment, and for his passion for the growth and development of the Nigerian economy. 

At different times, he has been honoured by the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the National Award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and Grand Commander of the Order of Nigeria (GCON), the highest individual honour for a private citizen in the country.

During Nigeria’s 50th anniversary celebration, Dr. Adenuga received ‘Special Golden Jubilee Independence Anniversary Awards’ from the Federal Government, being among 50 pre-eminent Nigerians whose contributions in various fields of human endeavor had helped to move the nation forward.

ITRealms recalls that in 2010, Thisday readers voted him ‘Nigeria’s most outstanding business personality in the last 50 years’. In an online poll conducted by the newspaper, the chairman of Globacom polled 4272 votes to edge out Alhaji Aliko Dangote who scored 4156.

Dr. Adenuga has made indelible marks in strategic sectors of the economy, which includes oil and gas, telecoms, aviation, banking and real estate, making him one of the most famous names on the African continent. 

His telecommunications company, Globacom, is one of the most innovative networks in Africa, with presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic and footprints in Senegal, Gambia and Cote d’Ivoire. 

In 2010, his telecoms firm commissioned its international submarine cable, Glo 1, providing a solution to the long-standing problem of insufficient internet bandwidth in Africa. The attendant international connectivity helped to usher Nigeria into an era of enhanced connectivity. 

In 2003, Globacom introduced per second billing when other telecom operators said it was impossible, and crashed the price of SIM to as low as N100, leading to an era of productive competition and the much talked about telecom revolution in Nigeria. The network also pioneered such revolutionary products as Blackberry, mobile internet and mobile banking services in Nigeria.

In the oil and gas sector, Dr. Adenuga’s Conoil Plc is one of the largest and most profitable oil marketing companies in Nigeria.  Conoil Producing, the downstream arm of the conglomerate, made history by becoming the first Nigerian company to strike oil and produce it in commercial quantity in 1991. 

In banking, one of Dr. Adenuga’s banks, Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) was one of the few banks that met the N25billion capital requirement during the 2005 banking consolidation exercise without going to the stock market. ETB merged with Devcom Bank, also owned by Dr. Adenuga and later Sterling Bank, which is today one of the foremost banks in Nigeria.

Dr. Adenuga also has a multi-billion dollar investment in real estate.

His companies provide direct employment to thousands of workers and millions of others indirectly.

Globacom is the biggest supporter of football in Africa and has raised the profile of football in Nigeria with the sponsorship of the Glo Premier League and all the national football teams of the country. 

The company has so far spent over N9 billion in cash and kind on Nigerian football. It has also transformed the annual CAF Awards and made it the most glamorous sports event on the continent. CAF has awarded Adenuga the Pillar of Football in Africa for his strong support for African Football at both national and continental levels. 

Dr. Adenuga was born in 1953, in Ibadan. He attended the famous Ibadan Grammar School, in Oyo State, Nigeria, for his secondary education and studied Business Administration at Northwestern State University, Alva Oklahoma, in the United States. He also earned a Master’s degree at Pace University, New York, majoring in Business Administration with emphasis on Marketing. He holds an honorary doctorate degree conferred on him by the Ogun State University.

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Pix: Dr Mike Adenuga, chairman, Globacom.