FirstBank Lagos Amateur open golf championship listed in WAGR - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

As the FirstBank Lagos Amateur Golf Championship tees-off, tomorrow, Friday, 15 November 2019, it has been listed amongst the golf tournaments in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), reports ITREALMS.

The WAGR is offered by the R&A and the United States Golf Association as a global service to golf. Through incorporation and assessment worldwide of both amateur and professional events, WAGR™ encourages the international development of the competitive game.

Since 1894, FirstBank has continued to promote the growth and development of sports in Nigeria. Apart from the Lagos Amateur Golf Championship which the Bank has supported for 57 years, the Bank has sponsored the Georgian Cup of the Kaduna Polo Tournament for 100 years. Other sports supported by the Bank include; the Dala Hardcourt Tennis, Kano for 32 years and for over a combined 30 years, the Bank has sponsored and owned the popular Elephant Girls Basketball club – which has remained a dominant force in the Nigerian Women Basketball league for many years – and the Elephant boys football club. The highpoint of these is the 2019 100th unbroken years of sponsoring the Kaduna Polo Tournament, widely attributed as the longest running sports sponsorship in the world and a Guinness Book of Records potential.

The 56-hole golf tournament, to be played over three days would be rounded off with a grand finale and awards ceremony on Sunday, 17 November 2019. Other activities to be held in the course of the tournament are the “Professional Coaching Clinic” to nurture the skills of young and upcoming talents and “Beat the Pro Skills competition”. The 2018 edition which had over 260 golfers in attendance was won by Sam Njoroge from Kenyan.

Speaking on the Bank’s sponsorship of the tournament, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said; “We are excited at the giant strides achieved with the FirstBank Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship. The championship is now one of the international golf events where all amateur golfers worldwide can now participate and amass points to aid their WAGR rankings.”

“FirstBank has been in the business of supporting sports in Nigeria throughout its 125 years of existence. We have partnered with individuals and institutions to provide support, not only in the sports arena, but also in Education, the Arts and Small and Medium Enterprises,” he submitted.

Nenye Dom/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Pix: Gbenga Shobo, Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Limited with Samuel Njoroge, Winner of the 57th FirstBank Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship held in 2018.

Breaking: Pantami orders deactivation of automatic voice mails across networks - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ali Isa Pantami, has ordered the deactivation of Automatic Vioice Mails (AVM) across all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country, reports ITREALMS.

He alleged that AVM has been the latest trend of financial exploitation by mobile operators and based on recent reports reaching the office, the practice has gained momentum.

The Voicemail service should be accessed at the discretion of the subscriber and not by default. The Honourable Minister finds it worrisome and totally unacceptable, that telecoms subscribers incur financial charges, for a service they are compelled to use by default. Voicemail is not a popular service among mobile phone users in Nigeria, coupled with the language challenge among rural dwellers, who mostly do not understand the language deployed by these networks.

It is apparent, that the recent clampdown on the exploitative activities of some Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country, has beamed the searchlight on the sector properly, and some unpatriotic elements in the system are devising subtle, ingenious methods of defrauding Nigerians. The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy under the current leadership of Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), will neither overlook any acts, regardless of how subtle, that undermine the Anti Corruption Crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, nor condone any attempts to defraud Nigerians and indeed, all subscribers.

In the light of this, Dr Pantami has issued a broad policy directive to the sector regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to immediately ensure that issues regarding automatic voicemails are addressed on all existing phone lines and the subscribers, given the option of accessing the service via an activation code.

It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the rights of consumers are protected, while providing a conducive business environment for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), in line with global best practice.

Chuks Egbuna/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Entrepreneurship is Ndigbo DNA, but … says Ik Muo - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

A lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Ichie Ezechikwado Ik Muo, has reminded Ndigbo that entrepreneurship ‘di anyi n’obala,’ that is in their DNA, which currently needs retweaking to meet current environmental challenges, reports ITREALMS.

“Entrepreneurship di anyi nóbala, (entrepreneurship is in our blood),” he affirmed at the weekend while speaking as a guest lecturer at the 2019 awards and lecture organized by the Association of Anambra State Development Union (AASDU) in Lagos.

He prompted participants at the Hotel Collonades, Ikoyi-Lagos, mostly Ndigbo that its not debatable if “entrepreneurship di anyi n’obala, but the environment has fundamentally changed.”

Muo, a serial author whose lecture focused on “Entrepreneurship in a Changing Environment: Reconciling the contradictions between Ebe Onye bi ka o na-awachi na aku luo uno…” urged Ndigbo to change their approach to entrepreneurship without forgetting their origin; “maka na egwu kughalia, a gbaghali.”

As far as Ndigbo is concerned, he said, entrepreneurship “si na chi, o di nobala” stressing that changing entrepreneurial environment and imperatives for success have forced the dance beats to also change.

“However, ndi be anyi kwulu si… Igwe bu ike; njikoka; ofu okpa anahu acha mbala; mmadu ka eji aka; anyukoo mamiri onu, o gboo ufufu …,” he said, maintaining that every onyeIgbo, is an entrepreneur because “it is in our DNA; O sin a chi.”

Ichie Muo emphasised that furthermore, “our worldview unequivocally evidences Ndigbo entrepreneurial orientation over the ages.

Yesterday, he noted, was era of pure commerce by illiterate and semi-literate compatriots, communal specialization, while today, Ndigbo have educated and enlightened who are almost everywhere doing businesses in manufacturing, oil & gas, engineering & construction, media, banking/finance, aviation, medical entrepreneurship, hospitality, telecoms, real estate and logistics, to name a few.

Nowadays, Ichie Muo posited, that entrepreneurship environment has changed and demands a change in approach by Ndigbo, asserting that its “all about being entrepreneurially alert; to identify opportunities before they become obvious; risky commitment of resources, and enjoying the rewards, which include freedom.”

As said by him, “An orphan learns when other children are being advised by their parents!” emphasizing that there are funds but there are no takers; decrying that Ndigbo entrepreneurs do not know how to access available funds.

He advised Nigerian entrepreneurs including Ndigbo particularly to seek professional advice, so as to help them understand the environment and avoid tax manipulation but seek capacity before capital.

The new entrepreneurial realities, he said, is that globalization begets an omnipresent factor, advising Ndigbo to leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools for their businesses including social media.

Knowledge acquisition and management, Ichie Muo pointed out, propels innovative entrepreneurship, buttressing with Hosea, 4:6 which states “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”

Therefore, he counselled that Ndigbo should always read, associate with successful people, and avoid copycatism.

Chuks Egbuna/DoP
*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Data Governance: Africa needs Internet core values for critical development - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Founding president of the Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA), Dr Jimson Olufuye, has said that Africa needs Internet core values for critical development and improve data governance, reports ITREALMS.

Olufuye listed these values to include openness, transparency, inclusivity, collaboration, effectiveness, sustainability, responsiveness, peace, trust to name a few, just as he beckoned on African policy makers to pay attention to these values to stimulate critical development for the continent.

Speaking recently in Accra-Ghana during the 2019 Africa Geospatial Data and Internet Conference on “Internet Governance for all round Development (IG4D),” Olufuye said that shaping the Africa’s digital future entails special and serious attentions from the policy makers.

“They should pay serious attention to those core values such that geospatial and other critical developmental data are open and transparently accessible for innovation and creativity to thrive for the continuous growth and development of our economies,” he declared.

Olufuye, who is one of the five global business representatives to the United Nations Commission for Science and Technology for Development Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (WGEC 1.0 & 2.0) pointed out that it will propel the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals on the continent of Africa and bridge the digital divide.

“And for more jobs to be created for our large youth population,” he said.

On the nexus of geospatial data, the Internet Governance and the SDGs, he said that geospatial data has everything to do with cadastral information of a country, hence, “It is a major national resource data which has the potential if well managed to be the fulcrum of prosperity of any nation.”

Olufuye, who equally is the chief executive officer, Kontemporary Konsulting, said that with available Internet tools, this resource could be better managed in an open, transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of the people.

“So, the nexus of geospatial data and Internet Governance is the values that drive them to enable benefits for all,” he said, stressing that these values include openness, transparency, inclusivity, collaboration, effectiveness, sustainability, responsiveness, peace, trust to name a few.

With the holistic use of geospatial data engendered by Internet Governance principles, he said, it would be possible that citizens could derive better values for their land thereby boosting their purchasing power with the attendant eradication of poverty, hunger, ill-health, illiteracy, gender inequality, and clean water and sanitation would be available.

Submitting that “Goal 15: Life on Land and goal 17: Stronger Stakeholder Partnership are benefits that would also result in proactive geospatial data governance.”

Chuks Egbuna/Editor
*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Lagos hosts heavyweights, others to 7th News Express - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

A broad spectrum of political, business and social heavyweights are expected to storm the Main Hall of Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, for the 7th News Express Anniversary Lecture holding this morning, Thursday, November 14, 2019, reports ITREALMS.

The event starts by 11:00 a.m. and is expected to last not more than three hours, News Express Publisher Isaac Umunna said Monday this morning in a statement.

“As was the case with previous years’ editions, the 7th News Express Anniversary Lecture will attract top government functionaries, industry and religious leaders, professional groups and diverse sectorial leaders, among others. It is a spectacular programme that commands public attention with organisers creating hype pre-event, during and post events both in the traditional and new media. It will also be streamed live to a global audience and broadcast on News Express Digital TV,” Umunna said in the statement.

He announced that former Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 polls, Mr. Peter Obi, will headline the 7th News Express Anniversary Lecture as the Special Guest of Honour and Guest Speaker while the keynote speakers include Eminent Lawyer and celebrated Activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN; and Legal cum Development Expert, Barrister Bashir Maidugu, the Honourary Special Adviser (Infrastructure) to the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum.

Famed Change Agent, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, will chair the event while veteran broadcaster and immediate past General Manager of NTA Channel 10 Lagos, Helen Onma Odeleye, would be the Host.

“The News Express Anniversary Lecture is an open event and people do not need any special invitation to attend. We look forward to warmly receiving as many people as would like to be part of this unforgettable event,” Umunna said in the statement.

He identified past speakers at the News Express Anniversary Lecture to include Special Adviser To The President On Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; Governor Sani Bello of Niger State, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Hadiza Bala Usman; and ‘Africa’s Bill Gates’, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Technologies Ltd and Konga.

News Express, which debuted on August 29, 2012, is one of Nigeria’s most popular and influential online dailies. It is read by hundreds of thousands of people around the world and records annual traffic of upwards of 100 million.

Nenye Dom/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Oyo appeal: Judges fail to make copy of judgment available - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Forty-Eight hours after the Appeal Court Panel sitting on Oyo State Governorship Election Petition gave its judgment, the copy of the judgment has not been made available to lawyers of the Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, ITREALMS reliably gathered.

Informed sources close to the judiciary in Ibadan told our Correspondent that the Lead Counsel to Governor Seyi Makinde on the election petition matter, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, has been left frustrated on the matter.

It was gathered that though Jegede instituted the process to secure the copy of the judgment immediately after the ruling, the Appeal Court has not made it available to the Counsel.

It was gathered that the staff of the Court of Appeal have told the lawyers that the Judges were trying to correct some errors in the judgment to prevent the errors from being made public.

“As of now, the copy of the judgment has not been made available and this could be dangerous. I can authoritatively inform you that Makinde’s lawyer initiated the process to get the judgment but he was frustrated. This is another reason for interested parties not to go to sleep, as something may be amiss,” the source said.

The source further said that the delay in releasing the court ruling may be dangerous because the Supreme Court has 60 days to determine the matter from the date of the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

Ayo Midele/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Sokoto ready to host All Nigeria Editors Confab 2019 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The city of caliphate, Sokoto is ready to host the 2019 All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC), slated to hold at the International Conference Centre, Sokoto, from Wednesday, November 27 to Sunday, December 1, reports ITREALMS.

The All Nigeria Editors’ Conference, is the flagship event of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE.

Acting President of the Guild, Mr. Mustapha Isah, said Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has confirmed the readiness of Sokoto State to host this year’s ANEC as a mark of his strong belief in the media as a strategic partner in nation-building and strengthening of the nation’s democratic structures.

The theme of this year’s conference is: A Distressed Media: Impact on Government, Governance and Society. The keynote speaker is Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, a multi-award winning editor, Fellow of the Guild and current Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard newspapers.

This year’s ANEC, the 15th in the series, would be chaired by former Governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba. Osoba is a widely travelled journalist of repute and the first Nigerian journalist to win the Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard.

Other speakers include Mr. John Momoh, Founder/CEO of Channels TV, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher Thisday Newspapers and Chairman of Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher Premium Times, representatives of Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), etc.

Press statement made available to ITREALMS and signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Guild, Mr. Ken Ugbechie, said the theme was chosen to reflect the prevailing realities and challenges in the Nigerian media.

He noted that the theme was informed by an urgent and compelling need for editors and other stakeholders in the society to examine the state of the media which has in recent years come under inclement economic and regulatory circumstances.

In explaining the reason for the focus on the media, the Acting President said: “The choice of this year’s conference is deliberate. The Nigerian media is distressed and its capacity to play the watchdog role in society is being eroded and challenged on several fronts and by multiple factors. We have reached the point where all media stakeholders must come together to seek answers to the many questions and puzzles that threaten media practice in Nigeria.

“We have carefully assembled the crème of outliers in the profession drawn from print, broadcast and new media to share their thoughts and perspectives with Nigerian editors so that collectively we can proffer solutions to our challenges,” Mr. Isah said.

ANEC was first held in 2004 at Ada, in Osun State. Since then, it has been held in different parts of the country. It brings together no fewer than 400 editors and other media professionals from all over the country and beyond to focus on a designated national issues that affect the future and wellbeing of our country.

The conference also attracts foreign speakers and editors from organizations such as the West Africa Editors Forum (WAEF), the African Editors Forum (TAEF), the World Editors Forum (WEF) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).

Nenye Dom/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Pix: Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State

Sophos report showcases 2020 cyberthreat impacts - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Leader in cloud-enabled next-generation cybersecurity, Sophos has launched its 2020 Threat Report providing insights into the rapidly evolving cyberthreats landscape, reports ITREALMS.

The latest report, ITREALMS gathered, was produced by SophosLabs researchers, and explored changes in the threat landscape over the past 12 months, uncovering trends likely to impact cybersecurity in 2020.

“The threat landscape continues to evolve – and the speed and extent of that evolution is both accelerating and unpredictable. The only certainty we have is what is happening right now, so in our 2020 Threat Report we look at how current trends might impact the world over the coming year. We highlight how adversaries are becoming ever stealthier, better at exploiting mistakes, hiding their activities and evading detection technologies, and more, in the cloud, through mobile apps and inside networks. The 2020 Threat Report is not so much a map as a series of signposts to help defenders better understand what they could face in the months ahead, and how to prepare,” said John Shier, senior security advisor, Sophos.

The SophosLabs 2020 Threat Report, which is also summarized in a SophosLabs Uncut article, focuses on six areas where researchers noted particular developments during this past year. Among those expected to have significant impact on the cyberthreat landscape into 2020 and beyond are the following:

Ransomware attackers continue to raise the stakes with automated active attacks that turn organizations’ trusted management tools against them, evade security controls and disable back ups in order to cause maximum impact in the shortest possible time.

Unwanted apps are edging closer to malware. In a year that brought the subscription-abusing Android Fleeceware apps, and ever more stealthy and aggressive adware, the Threat Report highlights how these and other potentially unwanted apps (PUA), like browser plug-ins, are becoming brokers for delivering and executing malware and fileless attacks.

The greatest vulnerability for cloud computing is misconfiguration by operators. As cloud systems become more complex and more flexible, operator error is a growing risk. Combined with a general lack of visibility, this makes cloud computing environments a ready made target for cyberattackers.

Machine learning designed to defeat malware finds itself under attack. 2019 was the year when the potential of attacks against machine learning security systems were highlighted. Research showed how machine learning detection models could possibly be tricked, and how machine learning could be applied to offensive activity to generate highly convincing fake content for social engineering. At the same time, defenders are applying machine learning to language as a way to detect malicious emails and URLs. This advanced game of cat and mouse is expected to become more prevalent in the future.

Other areas covered in the 2020 Threat Report include the danger of failing to spot cybercriminal reconnaissance hidden in the wider noise of internet scanning, the continuing attack surface of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), and the further advancement of automated active attacks (AAA).

Nenye Dom/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Geospatial data: African Policy makers must pay attention to core values says Olufuye – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The chief executive officer of Kontemporary Konsulting and founder, Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA), Dr Jimson Olufuye, has called on African policy makers to pay attention to core values to engender critical development for the continent, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at the just concluded Africa Geospartial Data and Internet Conference in Accra, Ghana on Internet Governance for all round Development (IG4D), Olufuye said that shaping the Africa’s digital future requires that policy makers should pay serious attention to some core values such that geospatial among other developmental data to pave ways for open and transparency society.

This, he also said would obviously make access for innovation and creativity to thrive for the continuous growth and development of African economies.

“And for more jobs to be created for our large youth population,” he said.

By paying attention to policy making, Olufuye, who is one of the five global business representatives to the United Nations Commission for Science and Technology for Development Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (WGEC 1.0 & 2.0) pointed out that it will propel the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals on the continent of Africa and bridge the digital divide.

On what is the nexus of geospatial data, the Internet Governance and the SDGs, Olufuye emphasized that geospatial data has everything to do with cadastral information of a country.

“It is a major national resource data which has the potential if well managed to be the fulcrum of prosperity of any nation,” he said.

Olufuye, who equally is the immediate past chair AfICTA, said that with available Internet tools, this resource could be better managed in an open, transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of the people.

“So, the nexus of geospatial data and Internet Governance is the values that drive them to enable benefits for all,” he said, stressing that these values include openness, transparency, inclusivity, collaboration, effectiveness, sustainability, responsiveness, peace, trust to name a few.

With the holistic use of geospatial data engendered by Internet Governance principles, he said, it would be possible that citizens could derive better values for their land thereby boosting their purchasing power with the attendant eradication of poverty, hunger, ill-health, illiteracy, gender inequality, and clean water and sanitation would be available.

“Goal 15: Life on Land and goal 17: Stronger stakeholder Partnership are benefits that would also result in proactive geospatial data governance,” he submitted.

Chuks Egbuna/Editor

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Asiwaju Tinubu says 'I'll personally miss Tam David-West' - ITREALMS.

ITREALMS:

All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has paid tribute to former Petroleum Resources Minister, Prof. Tam David-West, who died on Monday at the University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, at the age of 83, saying he would personally miss Tam, reports ITREALMS.

He described the former minister and professor of virology a nationalist and social critic who always spoke truth to power.

In a condolence message on David-West’s passing released on Tuesday by his Media Office, Asiwaju Tinubu said he would personally miss the former minister because he was one leader he admired and regularly exchanged ideas with.

The statement reads: “Prof. Tam David-West was a nationalist, leader of substance and social critic who regularly spoke truth to power. His voice was always that of caution and restraint to steer the leadership away from the path of unconstitutionality and danger.

“He was highly-principled and morally upright. Somebody who served as Minister of Petroleum and Energy under Muhammadu Buhari as military leader and won Buhari’s respect and admiration must be a man of integrity and honesty.

“David West and I often speak to interface on issues and to exchange ideas. He was one intellectual and leader I admire. I will personally miss him.

“I mourn with his family, both immediate and extended. I mourn with the people of Buguma, Kalabari Kingdom, the government and people of Rivers State and Nigeria, which he served selflessly.
“My prayer is that God Almighty grant him eternal rest. I also hope and pray that his good legacies will continue to endure.”

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*