ALTON Publicity Secretary, Damian Udeh, loses father, aged 94 - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian telecommunications community has extended its condolences to the Publicity Secretary of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Barrister Sir Damian Udeh (KSM), following the passing of his father, Barr. Sir Matthew Orji Udeh (KSJI, KSS), reports ITREALMS.

The late patriarch, a highly respected legal mind and community leader, passed away at the age of 94, as disclosed in an official funeral announcement made available to ITREALMS.

Census: Nigeria loses over N400bn as contractors lament non-payment for jobs done by Abdul Suleiman - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Nigeria may have lost over N400 billion in technical equipment, accessories, trainings and first aid materials procured by the National Population Commission (NPC) for the botched 2023 census, investigations have shown.

This is even as local contractors who supplied the materials and provided other logistics for the twice postponed census have been lamenting the non-payment of debts owed them by the NPC. 

Chairman Editorial Board Penpushing Media, Funke Fadugba loses mother - ITREALMS

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The Chairman Editorial Board of Penpushing Media Deaconess Olufunke Fadugba has lost her mother Chief (Mrs) Folake Grace Awosanya who until her death was Iyaloja of Bakare Bello Market in Araromi Sawmill in Kosofe Local Government area of Lagos State.

A statement by the family made available by Fadugba, who was also former Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council and a school Proprietress said the famous market leader passed peacefully at age 98 in the morning of Tuesday at her private residence in Asese, Obafemi- Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

NewsLeader Editor-in-chief, Celestine Okafor, loses mother - ITREALMS

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The Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian NewsLeader Newspaper, Mr Celestine Okafor, has lost his mother, Mrs Benedette Okafor, reports ITREALMS.

Mrs Okafor transited to eternity in Lagos on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, aged 75 years. She hails from Ishi-Ozalla Autonomous Community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu East Senatorial district, Enugu State, South East, Nigeria.

Desola, wife of Newdawnngr publisher dies @58 - ITREALMS

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The wife of the publisher of Newdawn Online, Mrs Desola Amoke Latifat Abatan, nee Adewunmi is dead, reports ITREALMS.

This was disclosed to ITREALMS by the publisher, Mr. Olatunde Abatan late Tuesday.

Publisher of ITREALMS Online loses father, Ogbuefi Dominic Nweke - ITREALMS

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Renowned community leader, Ogbuefi Dominic Udegbunem Nweke, also known as Ozo Sopuluchukwu of Awba-Ofemili, in Awka North Local Government Area has passed on at the age of 91 years.

Ogbuefi Nweke, who was the father of the Group Executive Editor of ITREALMS Media group, Sir Remmy Nweke died on Friday, August 9, 2024, after a brief illness.

Confirming this, Sir Remmy Nweke said his father passed on at the Regina Caeli Hospital Awka, in Anambra State.

Sir Nweke also said his late father was the patriarch of Ozo Nweke kindred of Umuosite village, Awba-Ofemili when he died.

Reputed for his hardwork and frankness to matters, Ogbuefi Dominic Udegbunem Nweke adopted his Ozo Sopuluchukwu title in reverence to God Almighty in all that concerned him with peaceful disposition.

Until his demise, Ogbuefi Dominic Udegbunem Nweke was the famous sibling of direct Ozo Nweke descendants.

Known for his accommodating nature and ability to always sue for peace, Ozo Sopuluchukwu will be missed by his wife, children, in-laws, grand children and great grand children, who affirmed that handwork pays.

Ogbuefi Nweke is survived by his wife, Princess Christiana Nweke, sons, daughters, in-laws, grand children and great grand children.


Funeral arrangements for Ogbuefi Dominic Udegbunem Nweke will be announced by his family in due time, in memory and celebration of his life.

Gwandu loses mother - ITREALMS

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The immediate past Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Dr. Bashir Gwandu has lost his mother, Hajiya Aisha Gwandu, reports ITREALMS.

Confirming this, Dr. Gwandu, a former Executive Commissioner and acting EVC of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said his mother passed away after a brief illness on Tuesday afternoon in Kebbi State.

Newsmart publisher, Rose Moses loses father - ITREALMS

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A beloved community leader and father of Newsmart Online publisher, Pa Moses Ehiri, has passed away at the age of 93, reports ITREALMS.

Ms. Rose Moses, the publisher of Newsmart Online, and former Editor of Saturday Champion as well as Daily Times Nigeria, shared the heartbreaking news of the passing of her beloved father, Elder Moses Ndukanma Ehiri, at the age of 93.

Greenbarge Reporters' Editor-in-Chief loses mother, GOCOP pays condolence visit - ITREALMS

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Aishatu Onwaaza Usman, mother of the Editor-In-Chief of Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper, Yusuf Ozi Usman is dead. 

She died Sunday, May 14, at the age of 86 after a protracted illness in Abuja, where she has been living since 2013.

UN World Food Day 2022: Ghana loses GH₵ 762.32bn - ITREALMS

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A new research has indicated that Ghana lost some 762.32 billion in Ghanian Cedes on either lost or wasted along the supply chain, and climate change, reports ITREALMS.

This was disclosed by the Food for All Africa, Executive Director, Chef Elijah Addo at an event organized by Food for All Africa in Yeji,the Pru East district of Bono East region to commemorate World Food day 2022 in Ghana.

Don says Nigeria loses N126.2b on abandoned FG properties nationwide - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Federal Government (FG) has been charged to either concession or sell all its buildings that are not being utilized across the country to private investors in order to forestall further deterioration as a result of continued abandonment, reports ITREALMS.

A Professor of Building, Prof. Olumide Afolarin Adenuga, who gave the charge in his inaugural lecture at the J.F Ade Ajayi Memorial Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka, on Wednesday, said, N126.2 billion revenue have been lost since 2006 on the Federal Government properties in Lagos State alone, because the government have refused to either sell or concession the assets.

Adenuga, a professor of building management lamented that the nation have been hemorrhaging as a result of the neglect of the buildings, warning that the huge economic benefits of these iconic structures would continue to elude the nation if the government continue to ignore the need to restore them to beneficial use for Nigerians.

The university don who said maintenance is as old as creation, said man have had to contend with managing his space and the ecosystem since he abandoned a wandering lifestyle to adopt a settled life, pointing out that maintenance was responsible for increased lifespan of structures such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Papal States in the Vatican City, The White House in the United States and the Golden Temples, and other monuments, most of which have been kept in same serviceable condition as they were at the time of their construction.

For him, it is regrettable that many of the nation’s iconic assets, which were pleasant to look at, at the time of their construction, had been allowed to degenerate due to lack of maintenance and planned repairs that could have reversed the trend and turned them into positive economic assets.

“It is a glaring fact that our buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structures and decorative disrepair, abandoned and reduced more or less to refuse dumps and natural homes for rodents and vermins in spite of billions of Naira spent to build and commission them.”

Adenuga listed among such assets wasting away in Lagos State to include; the National Stadium, Surulere, the Federal Secretariat Complex, Ikoyi, The Nigerian Eternal Telecommunications (NET) building, Marina, the Defence House (formerly Independence Building), and the former NAVY Headquarters building in Marina. Other buildings according to him are: the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, former National Assembly complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, and the Supreme Court building among others.

He said: “All these buildings are in deplorable states of structural and decorative repairs because we do not have any maintenance culture, a fact which manifests in the general apathy for maintenance coupled with ignorance on the part of occupiers of the benefits of planed preventive maintenance and care of buildings.”

According to him, the cumulative potential economic loss at the National Stadium alone, between 2004 to date, is about N52.6 billion, while the Federal Secretariat, which has been overgrown with weeds and is now home to reptiles and rodents, could have been yielded over N72 billion, if it had been converted to luxury residential apartments as proposed by Resort international Limited since 2006, while the 32-storey NET building with about 720 sq. metres of lettable space could have attracted over N1.6 billion in rent annually if well maintained and optimally utilised.

He said apart from the loss of the huge revenue which could have been ploughed back into provision of social amenities for Nigerians, the 480 units of luxury residential apartments being proposed by RIL could have contributed to reducing the shortfall in the nation’s housing stock.

“Because of their present deplorable state, these once iconic structures have become a nuisance not only to the city of Lagos and her residents, but is also a source of economic loss arising from abandonment and gross under-utilisation,” he added.

He said since it hardly feasible to construct buildings that are maintenance free, it is desirable for experts to think of building maintenance projections even at the design stage to reduce the cost of maintenance work throughout the lifespan of a building.

“All elements of buildings deteriorate at a greater or lesser rate depending on the materials used, methods of construction, environmental conditions, and the use of the building,” he said.

To reverse the trend of improper maintenance of public or private properties, Adenuga recommended a formulation and formalization of regular minimum repair programme, regular and effective inspection of all the fabrics of the buildings, including their sorroundings, as well as the comfort of the occupants to detect signs of disrepair, prompt attention to repair needs of buildings, to prevent further deterioration in order to keep the buildings in acceptable standards.

He canvassed planned preventive maintenance, which according to him are best accommodated at the design and construction stages of building development, even as he urged occupiers of buildings to be adequately educated to report, as soon as noticed, defects for prompt maintenance even as he charge them to use the property in such a way as to keep them in good tenantable conditions.

He canvassed that occupiers of public properties should be responsible for repairs and maintenance of the properties, the avoidance of deliberate alterations, which may lead to immediate or eventual decline in the state and aesthetic value of property, the standardization of building components.

He added that property owners, both private and public, should guide against overcrowding which may result in over-use of facilities and undue pressure on sanitary facilities.

Adenuga, a product of the polytechnic system, who described the lecture as his debt to academic and scholarship, is the second professor to have given his inaugural lecture in the Department of Building and the ninth professor in the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the University of Lagos.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Cyber-crimes: Nigeria tops African countries, loses $350m annually

ITRealms:

Nigeria is on the lead of top three African countries, just as the nation lost $350m to cyber-crimes annually, reports ITRealms.

President of Cyber Security Expert Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), Mr. Remi Afon, disclosed this in a presentation at the 2017 Vienna Symposium on Global Cybersecurity Awareness Messaging, Austria entitled: "Cybersecurity in Africa: Changing the Perspectives" in association with Samaila Atsen Bako.

According to them, cybercrime costs the world economy the sum of US $500 billion, which is over the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of South Africa, estimated at $350.6 billion and slightly less than that of Nigeria, about $521.8 billion which is the continent's largest economy

As such Nigeria, they said, Nigeria losses $350 million to cybercrime yearly followed by Uganda $50 million and Kenya $250 million.

ITRealms reports that they disclosed that some 11 States out of the 54 countries on the continent have basic substantive and procedural law provisions in place, while a further 12 States seemed to have substantive and procedural law provisions partially in place.

“The majority of African States (30) did not have specific legal provisions on cybercrime and electronic evidence in force. Draft laws or amendments to existing legislation reportedly had been prepared in at least 15 States,” they said.

They noted that for the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), a not for profit group of professionals in the field of Information Security in Nigeria, has focus on awareness and training whereas advocating for strong legislative framework, government commitment, multi stakeholder approach, capacity building and cross border collaboration.

In addition, they said, CSEAN holds healthy debates to expand audience knowledge, awareness and understanding of the issues around cyber-crime with objective of sharing knowledge to grow the Information Security Industry in Nigeria via workshops and seminars.

Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) -not for profit group of professionals in the field of Information Security in Nigeria

Further, they said that CSEAN adopted Stop Think Connect, stressing that considering Africa’s youthful population, “our main focus is on the youth.”

Nonye Dom/GEE

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Nigeria loses $1.5bn on GDP to vitamin deficiencies

ITRealms:

Due to lack of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, Nigeria is annually losing over $1.5 billion, an estimated N459.3 billion, in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the World Bank, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered, is coming as Nigeria needs some $912 million to tackle the malnutrition menace, especially on children, just as World Bank ranks Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) at 158 out of the 182 countries, whereas life expectancy stood at 48 years.

According to the latest Nutrition at a Glance released by the World Bank and made available to ITRealms, annually, “Nigeria loses over US$1.5 billion in GDP to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.” Stressing that scaling up core micronutrient interventions will cost less than US$188 million per year.

World Bank also said that over one-third of child deaths in Nigeria are attributed to undernutrition, mostly from increased severity of disease.

ITRealms also reports that children who are undernourished between conception and age two, are at high risk for impaired cognitive development, which adversely affects the country’s productivity and growth.

The economic costs of undernutrition, ITRealms reports, include direct costs such as the increased burden on the health care system, and indirect costs of lost in productivity.

“Childhood anemia alone is associated with a 2.5 per cent drop in adult wages,” World Bank group said.

Nigeria, World Bank said, is the country with the 3rd highest absolute number of children who are stunted, however, Nigeria has achieved near universal salt iodization as 97 per cent of households consume iodized salt.

“This is a major factor in preventing iodine deficiency, which can cause Intelligent Quotient (IQ) loss in infants and young children. Nigeria should be commended for this achievement and universal salt iodization is important to continue,” part of the report read.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nigeria loses N127bn annually to cybercrime – Shittu

ITRealms:

 

The Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu has said that Nigeria loses an estimated N127 billion, which amounts to 0.08 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) yearly, to cybercrime, reports ITRealms.

He made this disclosure in an address to the 26^th national conference of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) which opened Tuesday on the theme: Information Technology for National Safety and Security at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.

Shittu also said that for them in the ministry, national safety and security further encompasses securing the nation’s cyber space, noting that growing dependence on digital infrastructure introduces and poses grave threats to national security.

According to him, more Nigerians now have access to the Internet, hence citizens nowadays use the enormous opportunities this digital infrastructure brings to work, transact business, campaign, communicate, learn, interact and relax.

“Today, banking, commercial and other critical services are being provided online,” he declare, stressing that evidence however, abounds of growing electronic fraud and threats to digital databases both private and government.

He pointed out that in view of the critical nature of the economy and government activities, it is obvious that protection from different types of cyber and terrorist attacks is required.

“Software piracy, identity theft, electronic fraud, online spam, intellectual property theft and malware attacks can all lead to devastating and far reaching consequences,” he noted.

Additionally, Shittu said that the activities of hackers and cyber bandits are known to aid radicalisation and violent extremism, especially among the youth.

In order to address emerging cyber threats, he said, the Federal Government has set up computer emergency response teams through the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

And to further improve the nation’s cyberspace, Shittu said FG recently inaugurated the Cybercrime Advisory Council, underlining that the council is expected to facilitate the implementation of the Cybercrime Act, 2015, as well as the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy.

Earlier in his welcome address, NCS president, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, said that the protection of life and property is the major function and responsibility of any government, stressing that globally, no nation is excluded from the challenges of insecurity.

He also said that a more proactive Information Technology (IT)-led approach to combating this menace is needed in a country like Nigeria.

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Pix 1: Shittu speaking at NCS Confab 2016 and with members of the NCS and past-president and exco.