NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Africa Day to hold in China

Africa Day to hold in China

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By Aderonke Ojediran

The Inaugural Africa Day celebration, aimed to project a vibrant and authentic image of Africa to a global audience, is billed to hold in China in May.

 

The Center for China-Africa Discourse Studies made this known on Wednesday in Lagos.

 

The Communications Director of the centre, Queen Modestus, said in a statement that Africa Day in China was being spearheaded by Africans residing in China.

 

“In what is being described as the biggest celebration of Black culture in Asia, preparations are underway for the first-ever Africa Day celebration in China, scheduled to take place on May 23 at the Marriott Hotel in Beijing,” Modestus said.

 

The director said that the celebration had the support of major African corporations.

 

“The event will be hosted by Dr Joseph Olivier Mendo’o, Head of the African Youth Delegation in China and one of the 100 most influential people of African descent (2023).

 

“We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but a prominent Nigerian bank and the national airline of an East African country are among the lead sponsors.

 

“Additionally, a major South African brand is expected to join, alongside several non-profit foundations and intellectual bodies advocating good governance and pan-African unity.

 

“This is not just a celebration; it is a cultural statement. Too often, Africa is misconstrued as a single country due to racial homogenisation,” she said.

 

Modestus said that the event was expected to dismantle such misconception and present the continent in its full richness and diversity.

 

She described the initiative as a celebration of Africa by Africans for Africans, adding that it would blend corporate support, academic engagement and community involvement.

 

“Also, foundations with strong pan-African values are expected to play an integral role.”

 

She said that the celebration was being intended to become  annual.

 

Amb. Martin Mpana of Cameroon, who is the  Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in China, is expected to give an address at the occasion, according to Modestus.

 

She added that the event would  feature a high-level panel discussion and a dedicated forum for African community leaders. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ijeoma Popoola

NIPSS boss calls for data harmonisation, utilisation to address national challenges

NIPSS boss calls for data harmonisation, utilisation to address national challenges

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By Sumaila Ogbaje

Prof. Ayo Omotayo, Director-General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), has called for harmonisation of data for all agencies of government to utilise in addressing national security and developmental challenges.

Omotayo made the call at the opening of the Leadership Course in Data Mining and Geospatial Intelligence, organised by the institute in collaboration with Peace Building Development Consult (PBDC), on Monday Abuja.

The course was being hosted by the Defence Space Administration (DSA).

He lamented that there were different organisations holding large and fertile sets of data that were not connected with any other organisation making it difficult to readily have access to needed data at a given time.

According to him, we find ourselves looking for data that already some people have gathered and that they surely have, that they can easily use.

Omotayo said the course was designed to build an ecosystem of data miners to conserve resources, and be able to interrogate things.

“Our research efforts have shown that a whole lot of data in Nigeria is sitting in isolation. That is, we have data centers that are lonely and have important data on Nigerian citizens on the space and the rest of it.

“So we decided to run this course because we feel that there is a need for synergy amongst the agencies that gather data.

“If you have data sitting at different critical spaces in Nigeria, there should be a need for us to link this data together for the security of the nation.

“Your NIN number should follow you anywhere you go so that whatever you do in the Nigerian space, we can find you at that point, wherever you interact on any space, economic or social.

“We believe that for those who engage in nefarious activities, it will be easy to find them,” he said.

The NIPSS boss said the course was also designed to develop leadership skills in bringing together those who run data centres and those who took critical decisions concerning Nigerian citizens, growing the economy in the business world and everywhere.

He said the institute was partnering with the Defence Space Administration as a critical data centre for Nigeria.

On his part, Mr Kayode Bolaji, Executive Director of PBDC, said the course helps participants to understand their strengths and weaknesses with a view to combining strengths to be able to provide security for the nation.

Bolaji said that data was not just about security and intelligence gathering but also about geo-locating where resources were and knowing which agency or industry to connect with, to be able to assess a particular resource.

He said the current course, being the second in the series, had participants for the private sector, as well from security, intelligence and other government agencies.

He said the course would take advantage of the DSA’s facilities to conduct study tours of all its units to broaden the knowledge of the participants.

“We also expect that they will find a way to connect with security agencies to be able to use some of the data that they have to help in security management.

“That is not something that is common in Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Yakubu Uba

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