Connecting dots on Igbophobia, Abati and Internet backlash - ITREALMS

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In this piece, REMMY NWEKE examines the connection of Igbophobia in Dr. Reuben Abati's controversial commentary on Ndigbo and land question and Internet backlash that followed with facts of the matter.

“The same Igbos who are so industrious, that they are all over and they do well in other parts of Nigeria, you go as a non-Igbo man to go and buy a land, you will be told that you don’t belong even as an in-law,” Dr. Reuben Abati on The Morning Show @Arise Tv, Thursday, November 21, 2024.

In spite of whatever context the above statement was made by Dr. Reuben Abati, most Nigerians and industry observers are divided with some tagging it an ‘epidemic’ proportion, due to the Igbophobic tendencies and controversies it have generated, especially on the social media.

'Telecoms: Driving growth in Nigeria through connecting people, transforming lives' - ITREALMS

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The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, has declared that telecommunications industry is driving growth in Nigeria through connecting people and transforming lives, reports ITREALMS.

Ogunsanya in his keynote address at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Sharing Experience Series 2023, described telecoms as an industry that empowers both individuals and organizations, by eliminating certain barriers simply by connecting people.

Chinedu Lagos: Connecting the dots – ITREALMS

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Despite threats to lives and properties in Lagos during the 2023 general elections, ITREALMS' REMMY NWEKE highlights the missing links worthy of leveraging by peace-loving Nigerians, arguing that we are deeply connected than could be imagined.

How Tayo connected the dots:

Just before the commencement of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, the apex regulator of banks in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) began another phase of its cashless policy and introduction of the redesigned new Naira note.

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That weekend, I had a few things to fix in one of the vehicles, and the best bet was a reference at the popular Ladipo Spareparts Market in Mushin. The reference was a young man named Tayo, who specialises in using scanner to detect certain faults and fixing same.

Courtesy of Iya POS:
After Tayo finished, efforts to pay him via the USSD could not work out as my bank kept returning with an error message that the transaction could not be processed. I switched to the mobile application of the bank, aka 'mobile app' basically for online banking and was told the transaction could not be completed that I should contact my bank.

Relying on using the various wallets to sort out any transaction with obvious scarcity of cash, I inquired about any Point of Sale (POS) agent around the park, as I collected Tayo’s bank details of which he promptly pointed at one POS outlet. So, both of us approached the shop. The operator, Iya Kola who had stepped out to give POS service to some folks in a nearby 'refined' restaurant known as Iya Amala for their assorted Nigerian local dishes.

 

USSD is the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data introduced as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol that is used to send text messages and could also be used to make mobile transfers.

On the other hand, POS is Point-of-Sale handy device that affords a customer to execute given payment for goods or services and where sales taxes, bills may be paid through.

On inquiry, I was told that Iya Amala, now a landlady in a Lagos suburb, has grown her business, that she has been cooking for both Yoruba and Igbo clients as well as other ethnic groups in the market for over five years. So, Iya Kola managed to know why her attention was being called, just a stone throw from her shop by her son, and there, we were, standing to be attended to.

Few minutes later, she joined us and the transaction was done. And because I would not like to just pay for parking space of N1000 for a day, I inquired where to get a good mechanic to change my car oil since I was inside the market and could easily locate kind of motor oil for servicing. A young man in his late 40s was called. "Doctor, doctor" were the shouts that followed.

Informed that he was a ‘Motor Doctor,’ while his real name was Adekunle, I was relaxed to ask for his mobile number and by putting a call across, was directed to a nearby workshop to meet him.

ISOC says community networks key to connecting Africa - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

As Internet access continues to grow in Africa, with over 450 million people now connected to the Internet, more than 60 percent of the population still remains offline. Community Networks are a key way to address this connectivity gap, says the Internet Society (ISOC) reports ITREALMS.

ISOC is a global non-profit dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet. 

Community Networks are communications infrastructure built, managed and used by local communities. They provide a sustainable solution to address the connectivity gaps that exist in underserved urban, remote, and rural areas around the world. In Africa, where these gaps are more prevalent, a recent survey was able to identify 37 community networks initiatives in 12 African countries, of which 25 are considered active.

The Internet Society in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) (https://www.APC.org) and Zenzeleni Networks (http://Zenzeleni.net)will hold the third Africa Community Networks Summit in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from 3-7 September, 2018.  The Summit aims to promote the creation and growth of Community Networks, increase collaboration between community network operators in the region, and to provide an opportunity for them to engage with other stakeholders including content producers, regulators and policymakers.

Particpants from 13 countries in Africa (Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, DRC, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia) will be attending the summit in addition to attendees representing Community Networks in Spain, Germany, Argentina, India and the United States.

The conference sessions will cover topics ranging from how Community Networks can close the connectivity gap in Africa to strategies to support local access.  Discussions will also include how local networks can be used to improve delivery of basic services and inspire creation of locally relevant content and services, as well as how to create policies and regulations that enable Community Networks in Africa.

Access to spectrum is critical for Community Networks.  Policy makers and regulators can play a key role in ensuring innovative approaches to making spectrum available by working with Community Networks.  An Internet Society report (https://www.internetsociety.org/policybriefs/spectrum) examines the various ways that Community Networks can gain access to spectrum, including the use of unlicensed spectrum, sharing licensed spectrum, and innovative licensing.

“Enabling communities to actually connect themselves is a new way of thinking,” explains Michuki Mwangi, Senior Development Manager for Africa at the Internet Society.  “Policy makers and regulators should recognize that connectivity can be instigated from a village or a town and that they can help communities to connect themselves by providing an enabling environment with innovative licensing and access to spectrum.”

The Africa Community Networks Summit (https://bit.ly/2oCxh6Z) will conclude with a visit to communities served by Zenzeleni Networks, South Africa’s first telecommunications organization that is owned and run by a rural cooperative.  Zenzeleni Networks installs and maintains its own telecommunications infrastructure to deliver affordable voice and data services.  All revenues stay in the community and the residents together decide what is done with the proceeds.

The cost to deploy Community Networks can be low. Often, the technology required to build and maintain the network is as simple as a (inexpensive, locally available) wireless router. The networks can range from WiFi-only to mesh networks and mobile networks that provide voice and SMS services.  While they usually serve communities under 3,000 people, some serve more than 50,000 users.

“These networks not only provide affordable access in areas where operators don’t find it commercially viable to provide similar services,  but, by being built and operated by people from within the community, they bring many other benefits to the areas where they operate.  They are key to enabling the unconnected connect themselves in Africa,” explains Carlos-Rey Moreno, Community Access Project Coordinator for APC.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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