Facebook, Africa Check expand local language coverage - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Facebook (www.facebook.com) with Africa Check have added new local language support for several African languages as part of its Third-Party Fact-Checking programme - which helps to assess the accuracy of news on Facebook and aims to reduce the spread of misinformation, reports ITREALMS.

Launched in 2018 across five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon, Facebook has partnered with Africa Check, Africa's first independent fact-checking organisation, to expand its local language coverage across:
Nigeria, in Yoruba and Igbo, adding to Hausa which was already supported Swahili in Kenya, Wolof in Senegal
Afrikaans, Zulu, Setswana, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Southern Ndebele in South Africa.

Kojo Boakye, Facebook Head of Public Policy, Africa, said: “We continue to make significant investments in our efforts to fight the spread of false news on our platform, whilst building supportive, safe, informed and inclusive communities. Our third-party fact-checking programme is just one of many ways we are doing this, and with the expansion of local language coverage, this will help in further improving the quality of information people see on Facebook. We know there is still more to do, and we’re committed to this.”

Commenting, Noko Makgato, executive director of Africa Check, said "We're thrilled to be expanding the arsenal of the languages we cover in our work on Facebook's third-party fact-checking programme. In countries as linguistically diverse as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Senegal, fact-checking in local languages is vital. Not only does it let us fact-check more content on Facebook, it also means we'll be reaching more people across Africa with verified, credible information."
ITREALMS recalls that Facebook's fact-checking programme relies on feedback from the Facebook community, as one of many signals Facebook uses to raise potentially false stories to fact-checkers for review. Local articles will be fact-checked alongside the verification of photos and videos. If one of Facebook’s fact-checking partners identifies a story as false, Facebook will show it lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Data war: NITDA reacts to ALTON allegation, assures stakeholders on synergy among regulators - ITREALMS

PR@ITREALMS:

The attention of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been drawn to a publication ascribed to the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) published in the media regarding certain regulations and guidelines issued by the Agency.

For avoidance of doubt, NITDA has enjoyed a cordial and cooperative relationship with all sector regulators and we have consistently engaged them on all regulations and guidelines issued by the Agency.  In this vein, NITDA has significantly socialized the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019 and the Public Internet Access Regulation 2019 as referenced in the publication. The Agency is delighted with the support of several institutions in complying and promoting these regulations.

For clarity, no single regulator in Nigeria has a converged mandate on ICT in the country. Various Agencies have different roles to play in developing and regulating ICT in Nigeria as dictated by their mandates and enabling laws. Furthermore, no single entity is regulated by only one regulator in Nigeria, regulators in the country work in a cooperative and complementary capacity, resolving mandate overlaps in a cooperative manner.  ALTON, as with various industry groups, are expected to comply with various professional, sector, geographical and international regulators when their operations so demand. This understanding has been shared between NITDA and other regulators in Nigeria.  

It may be recalled that NITDA issued five regulatory instruments on the 25^th January, 2019, two of which were referenced in the publication. We wish to draw the attention of the public to the following:

(a) The Framework and Guidelines for Public Internet Access (PIA) 2019 was issued to ensure the safe use of free or subsidized publicly accessible internet service in Nigeria. NITDA has been inundated by concerned stakeholders to check the regime of publicly accessible internet service considering its national security dimensions.

The Framework and Guidelines aims to create and promote a mutually beneficial and friendly environment for both public internet access providers and users in Nigeria. The Regulation is directed at Public Internet Access Providers (PIAPs). PIAPs include any business or other entity that provide internet access without charge or offers a partially subsidized internet access to members of the public. The concerns which NITDA aims to address through this regulatory instrument are:

·         Cyber security and cyber crime;

·         Personal data breaches; and

·         Crime detection, prevention and investigation.

NITDA is enabled to address these concerns by virtue of Section 6(c) and (m) of the NITDA Act which mandates the Agency to provide Guidelines for  electronic data interchange in Nigeria and to accelerate internet and intranet penetration in Nigeria and promote sound internet Governance.

(b)  The Directives for Registration  of Data Centre Facilities in Nigeria was issued pursuant to Section 6 of the  NITDA Act 2007 which empowers the Agency to:

(a) Create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in Nigeria and all matters related thereto…; and

(h)Create incentives to promote the use of information technology in all spheres of life in Nigeria including the development of guidelines for setting up of information technology systems and knowledge parks.

Data Centre operations are principally information technology systems which support the entire IT value-chain. Reference to Executive Orders 003(2017) and 005(2018) mainly cites the added Presidential Directives on local content promotion. The fundamental mandate arises from the NITDA Act which has been cited above. Furthermore, the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT (2019) explicitly provides:

Data and Information Management Companies shall:

1.        Register their products, capabilities and organization on the NITDA portal. The service will be provided free of charge and devoid of bureaucracy and will ensure NITDA awareness of available resources.

2.        Host government data locally within the country and shall not for any reason host any government data outside the country without an express approval from NITDA and the SGF.

The Nigerian Content Guidelines is a salutary example of regulatory cooperation between NITDA and ICT stakeholders to promote Local Content in Nigeria. The above provisions anticipate the role of NITDA in the regulation and promotion of Data Centers in Nigeria. The Agency is not averse to any Regulator demanding compliance as it relates to the operation of Data Centers that touches on the Regulator’s mandate.  Interestingly, Data Center operators have openly commended NITDA for the improved enforcement of regulations and policies which has led to significant increase in Data Centre patronage in the last three years.

(c) The report further purports to take issues with the classification of Internet Protocol address, IMEI number, IMSI number etc. as personal data under the Regulation. The report assumes this amounted to usurpation of the NCC’s regulatory mandate. This is a patent misreading of regulatory frameworks. In the absence of a National Assembly-enacted legislation on Data Protection, Section 6 (c) of the NITDA Act 2007 specifically empowers the Agency to:

“Develop guidelines for electronic governance and monitor the use of electronic data interchange and other forms of electronic communication transactions as an alternative to paper-based methods in government, commerce, education, the private and public sectors, labour, and other fields, where the use of electronic communication may improve the exchange of data and information.”

Furthermore, NITDA was established to implement the National IT Policy of 2000. Article 5(xix) of the Policy provides…Government will establish a National Information Technology Development Agency to implement the IT Policy, regulate, monitor, evaluate and verify progress on an ongoing basis…

Also, Strategy 13.3(iii) of the Policy further provides ...Ensure the protection of individual and collective privacy, security, and confidentiality of information…

While it is global practice for sector regulators to give sector specific directives and regulations on how certain issues are to be addressed, this does not restrict the right of Government Agencies to issue regulations which cover the field as is the case in this matter. NITDA is in active collaboration with all sector regulators to ensure full compliance with the NDPR. The aggregate consensus of most stakeholders is that the NDPR is a laudable regulation which would further improve the Nigerian business environment and help attract foreign direct investment.

Finally, we advise that it is not in the strategic interest of interest groups to attempt to set Government Agencies against each other just because of its short-term benefits. NITDA is clear about its mandate as provided by the enabling law and will not be overawed by powerful interest groups to implement its mandate which is to the overall benefit of all Nigerians. It should also be noted that violation of the Regulatory Instruments of NITDA is a criminal offence and punishable with fine, imprisonment or both.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is a Federal Government Agency established in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy as well as coordinate general IT development and regulation in the country. Specifically, Section 6(a, b, c & m) of the Act mandates NITDA to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in Nigeria; provide guidelines to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of appropriate infrastructure for information technology and systems application and development in Nigeria for public and private sectors, urban-rural development, the economy and the government; and accelerate internet and intranet penetration in Nigeria and promote sound internet Governance by giving effect to the Second Schedule of the Act.

Emmanuel Edet Esq,

Head, Legal Services & Board Matters,

National Information Technology Development Agency, Corporate Headquarters, Abuja

14^th August, 2019

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Nigeria now theater of shrinking civic space with clampdown, arbitrary arrest, detention - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Some 51 civil society coalition have cried out over the shrinking civic space participation in governance as clampdown and arbitrary arrest and detention have become the order of the day in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

According to them in press statement available to ITREALMS, they said that since the return of democracy in 1999 and particularly following the 2019 general elections, the citizens were very hopeful of renewed vigour in addressing the myriad of problems bedeviling the country ranging from intensification of insecurity, the deepening of corruption, growing poverty and unemployment as well as flagrant and frequent disrespect of the rule of law.

Nigerians believed that the administration which received the mandate of Nigerians for another four-year term would reciprocate the people’s goodwill and trust; and commit itself to expand the civic space and facilitating citizen’s engagement in an expanding democratic space.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations have observed with great concern and indeed, alarm, massive violation of the rights of citizens, including the right to protest, concerted attacks of media organizations, press freedom and civil society organizations:

1. Media harassment and intimidation
The Nigerian mass media has become a regular focus of illegal attacks by the security agencies. Unlawful arrest and detention of journalists have become a growing phenomenon, and our great tradition of a free press and freedom of expression is under severe stress.

2. Constant Harassment of Human Rights and Anti-corruption Civil Society Organizations
The Nigeria State is currently engaged in continuous attacks on human rights and anti-corruption civil society organizations and activists in the country.

An instance is the unfair attack on Amnesty International Nigeria by some security agencies and unscrupulous agents using hoodlums and miscreants, threatening Amnesty International Nigeria to vacate the country.

Trying to force a legal organization that has all Nigerian citizens to vacate and leave the country without an attempt by security agencies to protect their rights is unacceptable.

3. The Unlawful ban on protest
We are gravely concerned over the unlawful statement issued by the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force threatening to prosecute the organizers of the peaceful rallies in Nigeria.

There are existing provisions of law and judicial authorities recognizing the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people to non-violently convene and participate in rallies, demonstration and protest marches.

Fundamentally, the provision of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended that, “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons…” is sacrosanct and must be protected.

We therefore, call for restrain of arbitrary misuse of power against the citizens for a non-violent protest, demonstration to express their views.

We demand immediate release of all activists who are in detention for exercising their fundamental rights.

We call on security agencies and government officials to ensure total compliance to the rule of law as provided for in our legal system.

We also call on government to respect and allow the flourishing of civil space for meaningful contribution to democratic governance in Nigeria.

We further call on government to be more accountable and responsive to the citizenry they were elected to serve for good governance.

Signed:

1. Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
2. Centre for Democratic Research and Training (CRDDERT)
3. Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)
4. Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre)
5. Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL)
6. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
7. Partners for West Africa – Nigeria
8. Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
9. Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP)
10. Falana Falana Chambers
11. CLEEN Foundation
12. International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
13. Zero-Corruption Coalition (ZCC)
14. Accountability Maternal New-born and Child Health in Nigeria (AMHiN)
15. Partners on Electoral Reform
16. State of the Union (SOTU)
17. African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
18. National Procurement Watch Platform
19. Say NO Campaign—Nigeria
20. Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education (CHRICED)
21. Social Action
22. International Press Centre
23. WANGONET
24. Community Action for Popular Participation
25. Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP)
26. Global Rights
27. Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC}
28. Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
29. Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE)
30. Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA)
31. Tax Justice Nigeria
32. Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria
33. Women In Nigeria
34. African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD)
35. International Peace and Civic Responsibility centre (IPCRC)
36. HURIDAC
37. Protest to Power
38. Network on Police Reform in Nigeria(NOPRIN Foundation)
39. Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
40. Women Advocate Research And Documentation Centre
41. Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA)
42. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
43. Sesor Empowerment Foundation
44. Dorothy Njemanze Foundation
45. Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives (ECOWA)
46. Hadis Foundation
47. Education As a Vaccine Against Women
48. Baobab for Women’s Human Rights
49. Nigerian Feminist Forum
50. Alliances for Africa
51. Space for Change

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Oodua separatist group writes Sultan of Sokoto - ITREALMS

ForTheRecords@ITREALMS:

Open letter to the Sultan of Sokoto and Fulani Leader, His Eminence, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, dated August 08, 2019.

THE STATE OF THE NATION:

We write this letter to you considering your importance as the head of the Fulani people in Nigeria. You are also the head of Fulani Muslims in Nigeria.It is our hope that you will be able to share the thoughts expressed here with the 7 million Fulani people in Nigeria through your traditional means of communication.

We write to honour you with this letter, given the floundering opportunities for a dialogue on the future of Nigeria, which has eluded the various ethnic groups in Nigeria and which may not enhance itself too soon.

Given the drumbeats of armed violence and extremism perpetrated largely by your people, and the fleeting prospects of a national dialogue, we hope this letter will not be the last opportunity to constructively engage you and the Fulani nation.

We, on behalf of Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA), a coalition of several Itsekiri, Edo and Yoruba groups write with our deepest feelings about the Nigerian state and what appears to be the pitfalls that lay ahead, most of which are oiled and orchestrated by your own people, the Fulani, albeit consciously.

THE PAST:

There was no history of Fulani in today’s territory until 1804. This was 800 years after the Yoruba Kingdoms had been established, about 600 years after the Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv, Igala, Junkun Kingdoms had flourished. The Igbo Nation had existed for centuries before your people wandered into this hemisphere.

We recall that your forebears came to power through brutal and bloody conquest of indigenous peoples in many parts of Northern Nigeria under the guise of Islam eventhough Islam had taken firm roots in Yorubaland, Kano and Bornu Empires as early as the 11th century.

Since your sojourn in Nigeria, you have been very lucky.

A whole country of over 300 ethnic groups, was handed over to you a foreigner, first through conquest of some of its part, you, who never owned an inch of land centuries earlier in this hemisphere.

You have reaped the fruits which trees you did not plant and you knew not when they were planted.

Moreso, you were from a family of wonders and your emergence as Emir and traditional ruler was unusual, having no royal blood in your veins ab initio.

No doubt, You succeeded in taking over the land, the main means of production of these innocent peoples whose main offence was that they were too caring, too gentle, too subservient and accommodating of foreigners in their ancestral homeland, Today, you seat on a throne soaked with the blood of millions of innocent souls anguished with deafening ears to the agony of the spirit of millions of victims of the horrendous killings by your men, who came from Fouta Jallon in Senegal, only some 210 years ago.

The British left in 1960 and you emerged as the main benefactor eventhough your people were not known to have fought for independence. You were wise enough to plant your people in the security institutions, a reflection of your preference for force and brigandage instead of a knowledge-driven society.

Through direct military intervention or subterfuge, sly plots, you have been ruling Nigeria, or determining who rule Nigeria since 1960. This is a rare luck that only courageous people can manage for some time, but needs wise, intelligent, decent and conscientious people to manage for a millennium.

Under the false, artificial creation called Nigeria, your people produce no oil, yet you appropriate and decide how the resources should be expended.

You have no access to the Ocean, yet you decide which goods should be imported and which vessel should ply routes that indigenous owners of this God given oceans had been using for centuries. All the military weapons were bought not by your money, but you decide who should use them and who should be killed by the same weapons. You have no richest scholarly tradition, yet your people sit on the Nigerian Universities Commission, (NUC) and decide the faith of other Nigerians. You located all the military institutions in your land, more out of fear than out of love for justice and fairplay.

90 percent of Nigerian resources are sourced from the South and Middle Belt, yet you decide how the funds should be spent. Did you think this irresponsible way of life will continue for ever? Did your people think we are foolish and even if we are, did you think coming generations will accept this brazen exploitation? We have called for dialogue on these issues, but you call it treason.

The truth is that you have grossly mismanaged this opportunity. Your ruinous and destructive tradition has robbed on all Nigerians. Your intuition for aggression has become a national culture. Your disdain for debate and logical criticisms has been imbibed by Nigerians who continue to gravitate towards the custodians of political power, whose way of life must be imbibed for recognition.

You have ruined and destroyed this whole nation at your beckon due to your exclusive, narrow, primordial and savage instincts driven only by your self interest and your brutal and non-negotiable desire to conquer and subdue every nationality in Nigeria. This is a tall task which you are hell bent in executing.

THE INVASION OF YORUBALAND BY FULANI HERDSMEN

We like to caution you on your latest antics to renew your grand 1804 design to conquer the entire country, not through ideas but through the most savage tradition of killings and maiming.

This to us is at the bottom of the current Fulani kidnapping in Yorubaland. We wish to inform you that we are aware of your grand plan to renew a project done half way and put on mute mode since the defeat of your forces in 1840 by the Yoruba Army.

We are worried that you and your Fulani people have been suspiciously silent on the kidnapping of Yoruba people, the killing of our young professionals including the killing of the daughter of a prominent Yoruba leader.

We were not surprised that you and the other Fulani leaders did not consider it necessary to send condolence messages or even visit the family of the slain woman. This can only mean your tacit approval or at least, a philosophy of cold compromise.

Please be aware that in the past two years, records show that 689 Yoruba people have been kidnapped by your people, Fulani, about 400 reported cases of rape, including rape of toddlers. Out of this number of the kidnapped, 356 were women, and out of that number, 250 were married women.

In all, 112 people were killed by your Fulani people either for resisting kidnap or for failing to pay ransom. This may mean nothing to you, but to us, it means a lot.

We urge you to imagine a group of armed Yoruba cocoa farmers storming forests in Kano, Katsina and Sokoto, kidnapping Fulani people, raping their young girls and even killing the daughter of an Emir or a prominent Fulani leader? Can you also imagine the same heavily armed Yoruba cocoa farmers occupying your forests, stopping your people from farming and preventing your people from plying the highways in their ancestral homes?

To make the matter worse, imagine the armed Yoruba cocoa farmers carry out these terrible crimes under the banner of a Yoruba man as the Nigerian President. How will you feel?

As it is, your people, the Fulani are digging their hands down our throats. They are entering our bedrooms and sleeping with our mothers and wives. These actions are not only against Islam, they are against humanity.

These latest actions plus our experiences in the past have combined to renew the energy of millions of Yoruba people who want a country of their own. Either you like it or not, this will happen. God, before whom you and your big crown are like but a filthy rag, will make it happen. We urge you to prepare your self to dialogue or if you chose the path of violence, there will be proportional response.

Having Yoruba or Igbo Republics is something you do not wish to hear, but which is imminent and inevitable. Please be aware that the Yoruba do not begrudge your values and the ways of your living, all we are saying is that we want to live our lives, design our political and cultural architecture, live and die on our own terms. The forthcoming Yoruba Republic will be glad to accommodate righteous Fulani people who respect our civilisations and the laws of our fatherland.

We wish to use this opportunity to advice you and your people to be aware that you have no power to conquer Yoruba Nation. Your forebears tried and failed. Your military and political surrogates tried, marked with killings, maiming and destruction of our economy, yet they failed.

We ask you to instruct your people, the armed Fulani herdsmen to withdraw from Yoruba territories and on their own, mop up the cache of arms and ammunition stored in Yoruba territories.

Sir, the Yoruba people stand for peace and not war. We would prefer these issues to be resolved amicably without firing any gun shot. But, we wish to say that if your heart remains rebellious and your soul defiant, the Yoruba people are not afraid to confront you once again the way we did some 175 years ago, this time in the most ferocious manner you can ever imagine. It is necessary to let you know this even though we are aware that you will not change the conquest desires of your heart. We wish you a happy Salah and Allah’s wisdom to know and do what is right

*Contributed by Col Abimbola Sowumi (rtd), and Mallam Salau Ahmed Akorede, for Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA)
(The Yoruba self determination group)

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Price for sex @BBNaija: Khafi Kareem in trouble with Met Police – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Khafi Kareem, a 29-old Nigerian-British constable who is contesting in the ongoing Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality show, has come under close investigation by the Scotland Yard for allegedly appearing on the show without requisite permission, despite sex romp, reports ITREALMS.

Khafi as popularly called, ITREALMS gathered is a Met police officer, was refused permission to appear on the show by her superiors.

However, reports from UK Evening Standard, quoted sources at the Scotland Yard as saying it had not granted Khafi her request to appear on the programme and that an internal investigation would be instituted as soon as possible.

The Ekiti State-born Met Police officer turn BBNaija housemate, was pictured alongside Commissioner Cressida Dick when the Met celebrated 100 years of women in the force on November 2018.

Khafi, ITREALMS gathered has been with Met Police since 2015, and was alleged to have sex romps with fellow contestant, Ekpata Gedoni, 31 at the ongoing show and on more than once.

An allegation, the organisers of BBNaija, have since denied.

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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Tight Security: El-Zakzaky and wife, Zeenat travel to India - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Finally, the Federal Government of Nigeria has released the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (MIN), Ibraheem El-Zakzaky who left to India on Emirate Airline on Monday evening for medical trip, reports ITREALMS.

According to reports, El-Zakzaky has been scheduled to receive medical treatment with regards to reported injuries sustained during confrontation with the Army a few years back.

The Nigerian Shiites leader traveled with the wife, Zeenat, and other family members amidst tight security.

ITREALMS recalled that the IMN leader has been in 'protective' detention for over two years despite court orders for his release.

His followers have also protested across various cities including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which lead to several deaths including senior police officer and youth corper jouranlist with the Channels TV, Precious Owolabi at the latest count.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Pix: Courtesy of Elombah.com

Facebook Salutes African Youths’ Innovativeness - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Facebook has saluted African youths innovativeness and restated commitment to help the young people of Africa in harnessing their digital and creative skills for the future of the continent through its support and investment in various communities, including startups, developers, agencies, reports ITREALMS.

Facebook’s Vice President, Product Partnerships, Ime Archibong made the pledge in his International Youth Day message, which held on Monday, August 12.

“At Facebook, we’re committed to empowering young people to build their digital skills and harness them for the future - whether they are digital builders, developers or product innovators. In the month of UN Youth Day, I’m delighted that we will be recognizing just some of these talents from across the region. Bringing together over 40 Facebook Community Leaders, SMBs, Entrepreneurs, Developers and Content Creators from across Sub-Saharan Africa, under the banner of ‘Celebrating Icons of Change and the Future of the Continent’ - celebrating the positive impact they are having in their community, something which is important to us here at Facebook,” he said.

He said that Facebook’s commitment across the region remains strong, as Africa’s importance to the social network continues to grow yearly, with this leading to many partnerships, programs and initiatives already in place to help develop digital and entrepreneurial skills among young people.

“Whether it’s training SMBs through digital boot camps, helping interested youth to acquire digital marketing skills and placing them in employment, training women in leveraging digital solutions to grow their business, or bringing together 52,000 Developers from across 17 countries through our Developer Circles program, we are excited to play a part in supporting the next generation of start-up founders, investors, developers and change makers,” Archibong adds.

He noted that Africa has come to be regarded as the ‘Opportunity Continent’ because of its potential, stating that young people in the continent will one day lead in the digital economy, not only creating a better future for its young people, but for people across the entire continents, whether here in Africa or elsewhere like in Europe or the US.

According to Archibong, Africa’s young population could be its greatest asset in an age where many other regions in the world are aging as a result of declining birth rates. Citing available data, Archibong noted that as the world’s human population grows from 7.4 billion people to 8.2 billion people between now and 2025, 40% of that growth will come from Africa, and with more than 628 million people aged below 24, this young, dynamic and innovative population will become one of the most powerful engines of growth the world has ever seen.

“Personally, I’ve always been so inspired by the creativity and talent across my home continent; whether it’s creating mobile phone apps which makes motorcycle taxis safer and more convenient, like in the case of Safe Motos in Rwanda and now DRC, or building technological solutions to solve agricultural challenges, like Plantheus, a recent graduate of Facebook’s NG_Hub Accelerator Program, we see people, especially youth, building solutions daily to local problems and needs. As eager and early adopters of technology, we’ll likely see the next wave of global digital innovations and apps coming from the continent and taken to the rest of the world,” he writes.

He also posits that with the adoption of social media, mobile phones and mobile money are enabling Africa and its youth to leapfrog to the next wave of digital technology. This infrastructure is the foundation upon which so much innovation in Africa is built and will be built over the next five years.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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African ICT Foundation lands @Cotonou with digital marketing skills - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The African ICT Foundation has held the maiden edition of its e-Reputation and Social Media workshop for young entrepreneurs from the Republic of Benin in Cotonou, reports ITREALMS.

The workshop, ITREALMS gathered, exposed young entrepreneurs on how they could use the social media to drive their businesses, master communication, choose communication vectors, occupy the communication space, stay consistent and manage the security of your accounts.

Regional Director of the Foundation in Benin Republic, Dr. Kossi Amessinou while revealing the potentials of the social media to the young entrepreneur said that it is simpler, faster and cheaper to search the internet than to recruit detectives through it adding that recruitment officers regularly investigate the digital identity of candidates.

Amessinou disclosed that with well over 70-80% of journalists are on twitter and most politicians, public authorities, actors, sportsmen with a twitter account the social media is a veritable tool for driving their businesses.

He described the social media as an excellence network of communication that offers opportunity to share content and allow to animate a conversation with all target public as well as management institutional pages.

According to him, a tweet works like a teaser for articles, photos, videos, or Facebook post has the power to increase the customer base of their noting that it allows the dissemination of information in the form of visuals and very useful for associations and e-commerce.

He added that with social media like Instagram small businesses can market their products and service to celebrities because it allows for the creation and sharing e your content in the form of images and videos, particularly by young people.

Amessinou described Youtube as the empire of video content with over one billion users worldwide that can impact the growing businesses of young entrepreneurs noting that there are over 50 per cent monthly viewing hours each year, about 300 hours of video uploaded every minute that can be used to educate, document, inform, disseminate and grow a business.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Data war looms: ALTON petitions NCC over NITDA’s attempt to regulate telecom – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has petitioned the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the attempt by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to regulate communication, reports ITREALMS.

ALTON in a two-page letter dated July 30, 2019 and signed by its chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, stated they were heavily concerned by the recent enactment of regulations, frameworks and guidelines by NITDA which border on communications matters, which for them is within the regulatory purview of NCC.

A copy of the letter sighted by ITREALMS, is entitled “Introduction of Legal Instruments by NITDA with attendant impact on the operations of entities regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, hence they are seeking for guidance.

ALTON drew attention specifically to some subsidiary legislations and frameworks by NITDA which include the “Framework and Guidelines for Public Internet Access (PIA) 2019; Framework for Data Centre Facilities; and Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019.

On the Framework and Guidelines for Public Internet Access (PIA) 2019, ALTON said that the supposed sets of rules negates the powers of Commission.

They noted that the framework empowers NITDA to license a Public Internet Access Provider (PIAP) which technically is a provider of data services and prescribes minimum quality of service for such providers. The key concern is that NITDA appears to be assuming the role of a parallel regulator for data services.

On Framework for Data Centre Facilities, ALTON decried that NITDA wrote to some of its members in July 2019 stating it has commenced registration of Data Centre facilities in Nigeria and requested they initiate the registration of their facilities with NITDA.

According to NITDA, the registration is in furtherance of Presidential Executive Orders 003 and 005 on local content development.

However, ALTON pointed out that a careful review of the Orders does not reveal anything specific to the operation of data centres.

Additionally, ALTON insisted that the promotion of local content in the industry which is the bedrock of NITDA’s position is not the agency’s exclusive preserve, “as the Commission is also well positioned to address same for the communications industry.”

With regards to Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019, ALTON said it contained some far-reaching provisions on personal data which includes communications identifiers, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) address, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

Further, ALTON lamented that NITDA's letter sought the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) and Personal Identifiable Information, among others, as well as the procedure for procuring consent from customers and the transfer of data outside of Nigeria.

"By implication, it will appear that NITDA has assumed the role of a Data Protection Agency in Nigeria and its Regulation overrides the Commission’s existing provision on data processing in the industry," ALTON bemoaned.

The foregoing, ALTON emphasized, brought to light the dreaded multiple regulation which has been a reoccurring challenge for the industry.

"It is our view that the current issue with NITDA requires urgent intervention by the Commission to safeguard the interest of market players and preserve the powers of the Commission.

Accordingly, ALTON said that in a bid to avoid a situation where members are caught in the crossfire of multiple regulation, they requested the Commission’s guidance on how to proceed with the NITDA on the aforementioned Frameworks and Regulation.

"This guidance will provide the much-needed clarity for the industry moving forward," Adebayo submitted.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Pearly Bleuwaters built on impact – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The managing director of Pearly Bleuwaters International, Mr. Victor Oshodin has said that the company was built on core value to impact its deliverables, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at a session with the media hosted by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) held in Lagos on Friday, Mr. Oshodin, said these traversed integrity, motivated, professionalism, accountability, credibility and trusted.

Also speaking, the Operations Director, Pearly Bleuwaters International Limited, Joseph Ogunleye, described the firm as a management consulting firm with vast experience in providing intelligent business advice and solutions to businesses in Nigeria and globally.

“We provide unique service solution to our individual and corporate clients, based on their needs and problem. We are project handlers for private organizations, institutions, government agencies and other businesses,” he said.

Ogunleye equally said that the mission of the company is to stand as a pillar to businesses globally by ensuring that professionals allow organizations double their profit margin by providing the best in line of service offerings for prospective clients. While the vision is “To attain local and global recognition for providing the best business advice and solution with credible and undeniable result.”

Pearly Bleuwaters, he said, is a proud member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce and Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, to name but a few.

He further said that they provide businesses with expansion and advisory services, project handling, public relations cum publicity, marketing, management and staff training, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as well as offering business solution tools like the website development, Search engine optimization (SEO), and digital marketing.

“We provide foreign organisations with the market survey report on how best they can come in and gain grounds and even take over the market if need be. We give ideas for diversification of business that complement the company’s present situation,” he said.

Stressing that their consultants are also skilled with methodologies and principle with experience that qualifies them to give business advice to organization in turn helping them increase profit and manage their businesses.

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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Pix: Emma Okonji with Team from Pearly Bleuwaters