Ugbede @70: Lack of political economy, hinders press freedom reforms says Oloja - ITREALMS

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A renowned journalist and former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, Mr. Martins Oloja, has called for a total media reform in Nigeria, describing lack of political economy of press freedom as the main missing link bedeviling ethical journalism in 21st century, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at the median edition of the Times Journalism Alumni Association (TJAA) symposium in commemoration of the 70th birthday of the former director, Times Journalism Institute (TJI), Mr. Ndubuisi Ugbede at the Conference Hall of the Ladi Lawal House, Lagos State Council Secretariat of the Nigeria Union Journalists (NUJ), Alausa-Ikeja on Thursday, Oloja, who dwelt on "Ethical Journalism in 21st Century: The Missing Links" noted lack of political economy of press freedom as main missing link frustrating ethical journalism.

Oyewole: Lack of information governance, bane of national digital economy policy - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

Lack of effective data and information governance has been identified as potential bane of any national digital economy policy implementation in the country, reports ITREALMS.

The President and Chairman, Governing Council, Institute of Information Management (IIM), Amb. (Dr) Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole, made this observation in Lagos at the weekend, during the media presentation of the National Information Management Stakeholders’ Forum (NIMSF).

He decried that both government and a good number of organizations were yet to regard data and information as essential corporate assets, with a clear understanding of the difference between Information Technology (IT) and Information Management (IM).

Oyewole, who also is the founder, Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA) Foundation, noted that the need for information management professionals in the country to be charged with managing the information life-cycle to evolve and assume their rightful position, as Information Management is gross misconceived in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized.

Stressing that for an effective National Digital Economy Policy implementation, there is a need for the industry to effectively and consistently engage the Ministry of Information and Culture, “as effective data and information governance will go a long way in ensuring the success of the initiative.”

ITREALMS recalls that stakeholders in Nigeria may be gearing up for a revolution in the Information Management (IM) industry with their strong demand for the creation of National Information Management Development Agency (NIMDA), reports ITREALMS.

NIMSF also called for the breakout of Information and Archives departments from the current Ministry of Information and Culture by creating NIMDA to enable transformation and repositioning, especially on data and information governance in the country.

In addition, NIMDA, he said, for instance, will be setting the standards and ensuring that qualified and certified personnel are assigned to the management of government data and information.

Also, he said, developing and promoting best practices in government business processes and providing adequate training and monitoring for data and information management personnel in government, will be part of the proposed agency mandate.

NIMDA, he noted that when set up will ensure all government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) comply with standards, processes, procedures, and specifications as it applies to data, information, records, content, and archives use, classification, storage, collaboration, retention, and disposition.

Further, NIMDA, he told ITREALMS, will work with other relevant government agencies in ensuring appropriate information management and technology tools are deployed at all government MDAs for effective information security and governance and so on.

He insisted that for an effective National Digital Economy Policy implementation, there is a need for the industry to effectively and consistently engage the Ministry of Information and Culture, stressing that “effective data and information governance will go a long way in ensuring the success of the initiative.”

NIMDA, he said, will be tasked with managing the “Information Lifecycle of data, information, documents, contents and archives generated by all government agencies, ensuring enabling standards, specifications, processes, laws, and policies are in place for a good data and information governance regime in the country.”

NIMSF, he told ITREALMS was developed by the RIMA Foundation to advance sustainable development at all levels in the information management industry.

“Our activity aims to enhance open, accountable and participatory decision-making and governance on sustainable development through enhancing the involvement of all industry stakeholders. We focus particularly on the effective engagement of stakeholders on information management related policy processes,” he said.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Pix: L-r: Protocol Officer, Kitiya James; Member, Governing Council and Director of Training, Dr. Kolawole Oseni; President/Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole and Head of HR, Merit Endurance, all members of Institute of Information Management (IIM-Africa) during the press conference by National Information Management Stakeholders’ forum held at IIM-Africa’s secretariat on Friday in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Telecom infrastructure: Pantami writes state governors over lack of protection - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has written to some states’ governors over lack of protection for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and specifically, the telecommunication infrastructure, saying it retards development in the domain, reports ITREALMS.

Confirming this to ITREALMS, the minister’s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman said he had in an earlier intervention to bring this challenge to a permanent end, “written to all affected state chief executives in this regard, urging them to ensure that all agencies and residents, within their respective domains desist from these despicable acts.”

According to Pantami, in an era where development is tech-driven and the Federal Government is making concerted efforts to digitalise the economy, the actions of these unscrupulous elements strive to undermine the President’s Digital Economy Agenda and indeed, the overall development of the country.

“This wanton destruction and total disregard for CNI, must be stopped forthwith,” he declared.

Stressing that the Federal Government is doing all it could to ensure the security of the lives and properties of its citizens and will not condone any acts, that will jeopardise its efforts.

“All governors whose states are affected by this scourge, are respectfully reminded and encouraged, to immediately deploy strategies that will bring an end to it.

As Chief Security Officers (CSOs) of their various states, they are to ensure the immediate implementation of, and compliance with this directive and anyone who persists with this criminal act brought to book in accordance with the law,” Pantami was quoted as saying.

In a related development, Pantami has expressed concern about the obstruction and hinderance to the activities of MNOs, by some men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), thereby constituting a challenge to telecommunications services delivery.

Numerous complaints reaching the Minister’s office, she said, alleged that men of the service, especially around border towns where BTS are located, deny passage to petrol tank drivers, thereby denying them access to refuel generators supplying power to these base stations. The effects of these acts are a threat to national security and economic growth and cannot be ignored.

The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, while applauding the revived efforts of the NCS in tackling the activities of smugglers, however, urges the service to direct its officers deployed to these locations, to identify and grant concession to genuine drivers carrying petroleum supplies to remote locations and are a critical link in the chain. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of President Muhammadu Buhari, is centred around a Digital Economy and the telecoms sector, occupies a central position in the scheme of things. It is of utmost importance that public institutions collaborate and form partnerships that will ensure the security and prosperity of all Nigerians.

The Federal Government assures stakeholders, operators and indeed all law abiding citizens, of its commitment to providing a safe business environment for investments to thrive.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Amansea-Ebenebe-Awba-Ofemili road: Obi expresses dismay on lack of completion - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has expressed dismay over lack of commitment to complete the Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbenu-Ugbene-Awba-Ofemili road, which he started during his tenure, reports ITREALMS.

The Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbenu-Ugbene-Awba-Ofemili road is about 37 kilometres from the capital.

He made this known at the 7th annual lecture by News Express Magazine at Ikeja Sheraton Hotel, Lagos on Thursday, as the special guest of honour and guest speaker, held under the theme: Getting Nigeria Out of the Woods – The Challenges of African Integration.

Obi, who expressed shock that the road has not been completed, over five years after he left office, however blamed the populace and especially community leaders for not holding those in political offices accountable.

As the first governor of Anambra State to visit Awba-Ofemili through Amansea-Ebenebe-Awba-Ofemili road, Obi expressed dismay that on his visit, the adults were busy dancing and hailing him despite lack of community healthcare, and functional school, instead of asking how to improve the livelihood of the community.

He disclosed that his interaction with students revealed that their school premises were not conducive for learning; hence he got focused on fixing the schools among other things whilst in office, urging citizens to always ask questions than eulogizing their leaders, which does not often help the leadership.

He obviously blamed adults for not showing our children the right values that make society great beyond wealth display and for personal aggrandizements.

Obi also expressed dissatisfaction that despite the fact the road has been down half-way at the time he left office, that Awba-Ofemili axis which is the end of the road has not been successfully completed.

He, therefore, advocated for revolution of ideas for our leadership, without which, current woes orchestrated by acceptance of corruption as a way of life will continue.

In addition, Obi called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police and security agencies directly or remotely involved in the conduct of election to see the elections holding in Kogi and Bayelsa states as opportunities to redeem the bartered image of Nigeria as a country unable to conduct free and fair elections.

Lamenting that the gains Nigeria recorded from the conduct of free and fair elections during the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration is fast fading away, Obi maintained that INEC must use this Kogi and Bayelsa elections slated for Saturday, November 16, 2019 to restore hope for Nigerians on elections as a means of freely expressing their franchise as against what he called the “return to kangaroo elections marred by violence and all that was vile” seen during the last election.

He declared, “Besides, it would also encourage well-meaning Nigerians to join in the future elections. … As the giant of Africa, Nigeria ought to be showing example to other African countries by encouraging free and fair election and allowing candidates with the highest vote cast to emerge winners.”

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Survey shows corporate boards lack cyber demands - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The latest global survey by the Deloitte has showed that boards of several corporate organisations lack cyber demands of their entities, reports ITREALMS.

Cyber, ITREALMS gathered, is growing and moving in multiple dimensions across multiple disciplines—beyond an organisation’s perimeter and IT environments, permeating the products it creates, the factories where it makes them, the spaces where its employees conceive them, and where its customers use them. Cyber is at the centre of digital transformation.

According to Deloitte’s 2019 Future of Cyber survey, there are notable gaps in organisations’ abilities to meet cybersecurity demands for the future. Findings indicate that many cyber organisations are challenged by their ability to prioritise cyber risk across the enterprise (16 percent), followed closely behind by lack of management alignment on priorities and adequate funding, each at 15 percent.

“Cyber leaders today are focused on digital transformation as a catalyst for change for both the greater enterprise and their cyber agendas. The good news is the survey results show that organisations are no longer taking a wait-and-see philosophy to preparing for and responding to cyber incidents”, says Deloitte Africa Risk Advisory Cyber leader Eric Mc Gee, “There is a whole new way of thinking that is starting to occur with how organisations are going to achieve their business outcomes, and that is with a cyber everywhere mindset.”

Findings from the 500 C-suite cybersecurity executives surveyed also suggested that there is still much work to do in aligning cyber initiatives to executive management’s digital transformation priorities. There is a real gap that must be bridged, with finite budgets and resources as well as a lack of prioritisation by executive management. The overall consensus was that many organisations aren’t fully equipped to efficiently and effectively tackle today’s cyber demands.

Findings of the Future of Cyber survey include:

· 43 percent of surveyed CISOs indicated they report directly to the CEO. This is consistent across the total survey population where 32 percent of respondents indicated the CISO reported to the CEO, with only 19 percent indicating that the role reported to the CIO. In Deloitte’s experience facilitating hundreds of CISO transformation labs over the past five years and through informal collection of data, nearly 80 percent of CISOs report to a CIO or CSO. This indication that CISOs are, in fact, directly reporting to a CEO is quite encouraging but counter to Deloitte’s experience.

· Half of organisations (49 percent) have cybersecurity on their board agenda at least quarterly. On the other hand, half of boards are not discussing cyber as often as they should. More concerning is that only 4 percent of respondents say cybersecurity is on the agenda once a month.

· While organisations are prioritising digital transformation, only 14 percent of cyber budgets are allocated to provide for cybersecurity in transformation efforts.

· Less than 20 percent of organisations have security liaisons embedded within business units to foster greater collaboration, innovation, and security.

· Organisations are turning to third parties to manage certain functions of their cyber operations. According to 65 percent of the CISOs surveyed, 21-30 percent of total cyber operations are outsourced, with nearly half (48 percent) of CISOs selecting insider threat detection as a top function that they turn to third parties to manage.

· There’s a disconnect between the majority (85 percent) of the survey respondents who indicate that they are using Agile/DevOps in application development and then ranking DevSecOps lowest (11 percent) on the cyber defence priorities and investments areas, which may explain why 90 percent of organisations surveyed experienced disclosures of sensitive production data within the past year.

· Data integrity (35 percent) was the top-ranked cybersecurity threat respondents were most concerned about followed by unintended actions of well-meaning employees (32 percent) resulting in a negative event and then followed by technical vulnerabilities (31 per cent).

Chuks Egbuna/DoP

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Group laments lack of project measurement, plans workshop

ITRealms:

A strategy-focused organisation, Development Measures, has concluded plans to hold a 3-day Strategy Development and Management for Results Workshop for Development professions in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Monitoring and Evaluation expert and President, Development Measures, Nigeria, Emmanuel Uche, who disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja, Monday, said the organization is: “delivering this Strategy, Monitoring and Evaluation Training as part of its Institutional strengthening capacity building series.”

“This particular diet is targeted at Development Measure’s partner organisations that are essentially of the organized non-state actors to improve their operational capacity, programme impact and sustainability,” he said.

According to him, the training series, targeting organized non-state actors holds from 19th to 21st of July, 2017, while registration of participants ends on the 17th of July, 2017.

He urged civil society organisations in the country to take advantage of the opportunity to build their capacity, sharpen their skills, and deepen their understanding of Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as Managing for Results, for greater productivity.

Development Measures is a private non-governmental organization, committed to building institutional capacities to effectively manage for results in both public and private spheres.

They have their key competencies in the provision of consultancy services around governance strengthening, strengthening system for accountability and transparency, organizational strategy development and performance management, system studies, research and evaluation.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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