By Sylvester Thompson

Prof. Olalekan Akinbo, Expert Supervisor at Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), said STI can facilitate Nigeria’s economic growth if the right policies were put in place.

Akinbo spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on how Nigeria can harness STI for socioeconomic development.

He said such policies should stimulate the implementation of STI by encouraging innovations, and that the indigenous technology should be capable of addressing specific needs of different clusters within the socioeconomic groups in the country.

He advised that for STI to impact on national development, the government should also grant incentives to companies in order to boost their interest in investing in indigenous inventions and innovations in the country.

He said it was important that tax cuts be granted to industries to motivate them to target specific indigenous inventions and innovations that might not necessarily be meant for international but national markets.

“By doing so, businesses shall understand that the returns on investment would not be global, but locally driven.

“They will also know that the amount of tax they pay for innovations they commercialise would be Nigerian focused, that Nigerians would benefit when it impacts their socioeconomic growth and wellbeing.

“This is very critical because in most of these industries, it is the tax levied on inventions and innovations, or on infrastructure, that would either motivate or discourage them from investing for profitability,” Akinbo said.

He reiterated that if tax cuts were given and industries saw the benefits as not accruing to the global market, but targeted at meeting local challenges and to help socioeconomic growth of the country, they would be willing to invest.

“Government should also create an enabling environment that supports STI by building a sustainable infrastructure that can help Upstarts and those inventions that are not coming from a conventional proof of concept.

“They should be those that are coming to meet the needs of individuals, the needs of a specific group and the yearnings at the grassroots,” he said.

The NEPAD Expert said that such innovations were need-driven, that if infrastructure which could facilitate such innovations were in place, it would be easier to impact the well-being of ordinary Nigerians.

He also advised that the government should put in place institutions that are focused on technology upgrade, meaning innovations that have been proven to meet the needs of the people and their scalability.

Akinbo urged that to harness the benefits of STI for socioeconomic growth, the government should take local advantage that an innovation could bring to a particular environment into consideration.

According to him, the government should focus policies on such environments that had beneficial prospects that would enrich the lives of the people there.

“What I’m saying is that there are products which can easily be developed in an environment where the raw materials are locally sourced, and this would automatically cut off the cost of transportation.

“Innovations that use technologies where raw materials are locally sourced should be located in that environment, which would now become the hub where the industry can develop that innovation to a scalable commercial level.

“Products developed from the innovations would then be transported across the country where the raw materials are not available, but the finished product can benefit the people of other geographical locations,” he said.

The STI Expert also underscored the need for good infrastructures such as good road connectivity that would allow seamless transportation, and by rail depending on how massive the production was.

He said the government should also make water readily available to be used for developing the innovations, adding that these were what the government needed to provide as further incentives for industries.

Akinbo also mentioned financial security and protection of intellectual property rights of an innovator as important areas government must take cognizance of in making STI work for the benefit of ordinary Nigerians. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Jessica Dogo

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says all fraudulent messages on network shut down in the country should be ignored.

The NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Muoka said the NCC’s attention was drawn to fraudulent and misleading information circulating in some social media platforms.

He said that the platforms insinuated there was a planned shutdown of all telecom networks and relevant ICT Units, including online transfer facilities of the banks, with effect from today, Feb. 23.

“The Nigerian public, consumers of telecommunications services, and all bank customers are advised to ignore these or similar messages that insinuate deliberate network shutdown or disruption of services in the Nigerian telecom network.

“These malicious and subversive messages originated and are being circulated by fraudsters and unscrupulous elements in the society with the intent to cause chaos and panic among the populace.”

He said that the Commission had received unequivocal assurances from all the service providers to the effect that all network services were currently in optimal performance.

“No network will witness any deliberate shutdown or disruptions, especially at this very crucial period of general elections in the country,” he said.

He assured all users of telecommunications and banking services utilising network facilities continued optimal service delivery before, during, and after the general elections in Nigeria. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

By Sylvester Thompson

A forensic technical working group facilitated by National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), on Wednesday in Abuja brainstormed on how to develop a standardised legal framework for forensic practices in Nigeria.

The group comprised co-stakeholders from the Judiciary, STI Ministry, the Police, NDLEA, NEMA, NAPTIP, other law enforcement agencies, Medical and Dental Council, foreign experts and representatives of various organisations.

The crew is also responsible for developing a framework for national Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) database that iss comprehensive and cost effective to address gaps Nigeria faces in areas of security and medico-legal issues among others.

Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General of NABDA, underscored the importance and urgency of developing a robust standard forensic database that would regulate and enable institutions of government to perform at optimal level.

The D-G, who was represented by Dr Bartholomew Ibeh, Director, Medical Biotechnology Department, emphasised on the importance of a standardised forensic science practice in Nigeria.

Mustapha said:“It is very important in terms of security issues, serial offenders, rape cases and sexual molestations, cases relating to accident victims, missing persons, immigration as well as tracking of terrorists among others.’’

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at the close of the workshop, Mustapha expressed optimism that Nigerians would begin to see the standardization of forensic science in the country.

He said: ”Nigerians would also witness how the DNA databank and other forensic data banks are built, the standards and patterns to be followed in administering forensic evidence in court.”

Mustapha assured that this would help to empower government institutions that had the mandate of discharging their responsibilities in areas relating to forensic science especially DNA.

He listed institutions such as the Police, Immigration, NDLEA, and the judiciary, among others, as where most of these issues ended up.

Mustapha said the agency was not only a facilitator, but it provided the expertise that was driving the process for Nigeria.

He said the agency had a forensic DNA laboratory which would enable scientists in the field to practice and lead to the country having a standardised forensic reference laboratory for investigations.

Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, Chairman of the Forensic Technical Working Committee, told NAN that forensic science was a variegated and diffused field which found applicability in various sectors of national life.

The Chairman said various institutions of government were working with DNA to solve numerous issues relating to health, investigations of crimes and deaths, among others.

He, however, added that the activities of forensic institutions in the country needed proper coordination, regulation and a standard procedure for optimal performance.

Agbonlahor said consequent upon the constitution of a National Forensic Working Group (NFWG), the maiden edition of the workshop was held in 2019, but COVID-19 only gave room for virtual meetings.

“The workshop help to push the idea of ensuring that a bill would eventually emanate for the control, coordination and regulation of forensic activities across the nation.

“The only way to do that is to have a working committee to midwife the process and that is essentially why we are here.

“We are looking at a neutral body to regulate and coordinate the activities of these various institutions, departments and others whose activities have to do with forensic science,’’ Agbonlahor said.

He said the standard approach should be in tandem with international best practices and that Nigeria needed these standardised forensic procedures.

Dr Patrick Oyong, a Director in the Federal Ministry of Justice said though the field of forensics was not as old as other fields and resource persons were few, but that it was forensics significant.

He said there was need for a forensic bill to be transmitted into law through the National Assembly, adding: “We have started working on it and we will continue to engage other stakeholders on it.

“ We have also gone further by setting up relevant committees that would work towards that and we do not need to fold our hands because we know government is quite appreciative of this.

“It is our responsibility individually and collectively to put all hands on deck to ensure that our intention of this development becomes a reality.”

Dr Tijjani Mandaka of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria(MDCN), stated that forensic science would play a strategic role for Doctors and medical personnel especially in rape cases.

“With forensic science, criminals will not be set free, criminals are set free due to lack of evidences,’’ Mandaka said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Funmilola Gboteku/Stellamaris Ashinze

Some experts on Friday called for the use of emerging technologies to educate citizens on politics, good governance and electoral processes.

They made this call during a panel session at the ongoing AfricaNXT 2023, while speaking on the theme: “Emerging Technologies and Civic Engagement.”

The experts said that voters apathy had been a crucial concern in the electoral process in Nigeria, noting that there had been a sustained decline in voters turnout.

They said during the 2019 general elections, 51 per cent of the 84 million registered voters were youths, but in spite of that the total cast for the presidential elections was 28.6 million.

Mr Kunle Lawal, the Executive Director, Electoral College Nigeria, said that many people in Nigeria lacked adequate political knowledge and trust in the electoral processes.

“Many Nigerians are politically illiterate, they do not understand governance, hence, it is the job of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to create awareness by leveraging on technology to educate citizens.

“The reason why we experience low turn out during elections is because many Nigerians struggle to make informed choices due to lack of education on the voting processes,” Lawal said.

Bukola Idowu, Team Lead, Kimpact Development Initiative, said that in recent times technological innovation in the civic space had been providing citizens with unprecedented access to information on how to become more active citizens.

Idowu said that citizens, especially youths, were equipped with the knowledge to actively engage elected government officials and policy makers to demand for good governance.

He said that while CSOs had used technology to engage a number of citizens and national parliaments, some Nigerians lack access to the internet or infrastructure and hence cannot engage in politics digitally.

Idowu said: “Our concern now should be how to connect the citizens in the offline territory to those online, so that they can work together.

“We need to connect and sensitise those in the grassroots on good governance and why it is necessary to participate in electoral processes,” he said.

Mr David Ayodele, Senior Programme Associate, Enough is Enough, Civic Technology, has increased the power of citizens over political life and made governments more accessible, efficient, effective and accountable.

He, however, noted that most citizens do not understand the Nigerian constitution, adding that the government should introduce the constitution as a subject that should be taught in schools.

NAN reports that AfricaNXT 2023 with the theme: “Cooperate. Collaborate. Innovate. Unlocking Our Potential, Ensuring Africa’s Prosperity,” is currently in its 11th edition.

This year’s conference brings together tech enthusiasts, founders, startups, entrepreneurs, policymakers and a broad range of industry stakeholders to engage in a solution-focused dialogue to chart the path for a sustainable Africa. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Chidinma Agu/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Stellamaris Ashinze and Funmilola Gboteku

The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) says over 100 million Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) has so far been produced locally within a year of the first Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo.

This was made known by Aderonke Sola-Ogunsola, NCC’s Head of Financing and Stakeholders Engagement Team at this year’s AFRICANXT on Thursday in Lagos.

Sola-Ogunsola spoke on “Mandate and Strides Towards Full Digital Economy in Nigeria”.

She said that the country could serve as manufacturer of SIM in West Africa through the Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content of the NCC.

She said over 100 millions of SIMs had been ordered by various telecommunications  companies, putting an end to the importation of SIM and an attainment of a fully digital economy in Nigeria.

Sola-Ogunsola said that at the 2022 indigenous  content expo in Lagos, the Federal Government  banned the importation of SIMs into the country.

According to her, Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content is to encourage innovation among the youths and promote the digital economy.

‘’There is the need to ensure individuals, businesses and the nation harness derivable benefits and the opportunities offered by the emergent digital culture, to improve quality of life, grow businesses, and leapfrog the national economy.

‘’This remains the overarching objective of government policies, plans, and strategies,” she said.

The Head, Digital Skills and Services, NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, said that Nigeria was rapidly  becoming a digital economy.

Bruce-Bennett said that out of seven tech unicorns in Africa, five were Nigerian companies, namely Andela, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Jumia and Opay

According to her,  NCC is working with tertiary institutions and the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) on how youths could build their capacity.

Head, Spectrum Administration, NCC Abraham Oshadami noted that digital economy could not exist without needed infrastructure, saying, “globally, infrastructure is the bedrock for adequate broadband penetration”.

Oshadami said that Nigeria had taken the lead by providing wireless resources because there were policies to deploy the infrastructure and make them work.

According  to him, Nigeria has done well in the entire Africa, by being at the forefront of making resources available to provide high speed broadband leveraging on satellite  and technology

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ) reports that the ongoing AFRICANXT, formerly called Social Media Week, is an annual event held in February.

This year’s theme is: ‘’Cooperate. Collaborate. Innovate. Unlocking Our Potential, Ensuring Africa’s Prosperity”. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joe Idika

By Sylvester Thompson

Dr Akintayo Omimakinde, Director-Goeneral of National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), said inter-agency collaborations would lead to minimal costs, thereby becoming a handy tool to save government’s resources.

Omimakinde said this at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between NACETEM and the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), in Abuja.

He said the implication of such collaborations was to enable government agencies and parastatals leverage on each other’s strengths to save government resources in terms of capital flight.

The D-G added that inter-agency collaborations would take advantage of what was readily available in the country, thereby facilitating the process that would lead to minimal expenditures.

He noted that in an age where knowledge changed at the speed of light, no organisation could afford to work in isolation.

“The time we are in calls for active interaction and engagement between and, or among institutions to achieve meaningful development that will rub off on the society in terms of concrete impacts,”he said.

Omimakinde said areas of collaborations between NITT and NACETEM in the MoU included, fostering of cooperation between the Institute and NACETEM in the areas of technology transfer and adaptation in transport and logistics services.

The collaboration also involved data gathering and dissemination for operators, stakeholders and policy makers in the transport industry.

Others are; joint research and development activities in the transport and logistics industry for improved capacity and products services delivery.

Omamakinde said: ‘`Today’s signing of MoU is another step to underscore the significance of science, technology and innovation (STI) to all sectors of the economy.

“STI is a driver of sustainable development in all areas of life, it is therefore apposite to collaborate with other institutions operating within the STI space so as to cross-fertilise ideas and accelerate development.’’

The NACETEM D-G said that collaborating with NITT was an easy decision to make due to the significance of the transport sector to Nigeria’s economy and the critical roles it played within the sector.

Dr Bayero Farah, Director-General of NITT also corroborated the importance of inter-agency collaborations, stressing that it would assist government established agencies fast track national development.

He said the MoU signing with NACETEM was a significant in the history of NITT in terms of collaborations.

Farah said that NACETEM would also look into other areas for possible collaborations.

Mr Haastrup Olatunji, Chairman, Governing Board of NACETEM , assured NITT that the collaboration had the full backing of the board, adding, ” everything would be done to make it successful.” (NAN)(www.nannews,ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Jessica Dogo/Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The National Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) says it will create 500,000 jobs from its planned initiative of licensing indigenous institution to train and certify data privacy and protection experts in Nigeria.

The National Commissioner of the NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji said this at the 1st year anniversary and the launch of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations Report (NDPR), in Abuja.

He said the bureau had recorded modest progress and initiated a plan to create 500,000 jobs for the Nigerian labour market.

“We have initiated a comprehensive process for training and certification of data privacy as well as protection experts in Nigeria.

“This training and certification are expected to create career opportunities for at least 500,000 persons in the labour market.

“There is need for NDPB to license an indigenous institution to coordinate the development of training materials and certify training providers based on internationally acceptable standards.

“Conduct examinations, provide certification to successful candidates, conduct research to deepen the knowledge domain and maintain a database certified persons and others,” he said.

Olatunji said the bureau achieved great feat in Strategic Road Map and Action Plan, Capacity Building, Awareness, Institutional collaborations.

“Data protection compliance organisations with National Data Protection Adeqaucy Programme (NaDPAP) and Data Protection Certification, accordingly”.

He listed some of the impacts the bureau made on the nation’s economy to include: Creation of 9,577 jobs, verified 1,928 Data Protection Officers (DPOs) and 138 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs).

These achievements, he said, were recorded within a period of two years between 2020 and 2022.

Olatunji said: “In the report, the bureau hopes to achieve eight objectives this 2023 and beyond that include increased awareness, enactment of the Data Protection Bill, transition to commission and others”.

Also, the Chairman of the NDPB Strategic Road Map and Action Plan (SRAP), Abdul-Hakim Ajijola said data protection in Nigeria was extremely important for a number of reasons.

He said: “they include increasing reliance on technology and the internet in Nigeria means that personal data is being collected, stored, and processed by a wide range of companies and organisations.

“This data is often sensitive and could be misused or stolen if it is not protected.

“You have done a lot within this one year period but you need to do more, while all the stakeholders must make sure Nigeria ratifies the Malabo Convention of Data Privacy,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that bureau also recognise some institutions for their support, and confered them with institutional support awards

They include the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), awarded Institutional Pillar of Support while Prof. Mansur Auwalu received the award on behalf of its Executive Vice-Chairman Prof. Umar Danbatta.

He assured of the commission’s continued support, adding that they were seeing what the bureau was doing.

While, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was awarded Institutional Value Support. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Jessica Dogo

The Qnet, a digital marketing group, in partnership with Transblue Limited, says it is building financial literacy and providing trainings on entrepreneurial skills and business management to help Nigerian youths start-up and grow their own businesses.

Transblue’s Managing Director, Abdulhakeem Abiodun, said this during a roundtable in Abuja.

Acording to Abiodun, there is a growing demand for job creation among young people in Nigeria to drive economic growth

He said that technology and innovation had provided opportunities for young entrepreneurs to develop new businesses, solve local problems and positively impact society.

“This partnership enables us to connect every Nigerian to the global network of QNET.

It aims to provide a great business opportunities to those who seek a better tomorrow and transform their lives.

“This is not to say that Qnet is giving employment to Nigerians, but it enables sharp minds to create an entrepreneurial skill to give value to people,” he said.

He addded that Qnet did not promise employment but encouraged youths to their own employers.

“The company has much for Nigerians that have shown commitment to entrepreneurship to be mentored and be trained to improve their skills.

“We want to leverage the technological advancement needed for direct selling to achieve these goals.

“Entrepreneurship education, financial literacy, skill development and business management Programmes are available for young people in Nigeria.

Those opportunities would help the young people to build the skills necessary to start and grow their businesses in different endeavours, like music, fashion, and the arts,” he said.

Abiodun said that the challenges companies faced in Nigeria encouraged Transblue to become a part of the solution by bringing superior customer and logistics services to the market.

Qnet’s Director-General, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Biram Fall, said that the company had consistently maintained legitimate business model.

Fall said that the organisation used virtual e-commerce platforms to conduct transactions, manage customer orders and provide real-time support to its representatives.

“Qnet has been consistent and we continue to maintain that we are a legitimate business model.

“We provide comprehensive training and support to our independent representatives, including sales and marketing tools, product knowledge, and leadership development,” he said.

The Group Chief Communications Officer, Qnet, Singapore, Ramya Chandrasekaran, said the company recently launched a Direct Selling Disinformation Centre (DSDC).

Chandrasekaran said the centre would help to combat the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation about the direct selling industry and its brand.

“QNET operates an online global DSDC to dispel misconceptions, unethical behaviour and public complaints about the sector.

“From an industry perspective, this is a unique initiative that advocates transparency and good practices.

“We keep hearing on social media that there are people offering jobs in the name of Qnet, people who are misrepresenting the name of Qnet and this is disturbing to us,” she said.

She urged the general public to report such incidences of unethical conduct at the DSDC for further action.

According to her, Qnet promotes entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals to start their businesses and achieve financial independence globally, especially in Africa. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman/Idris Abdulrahman