03072019 - Buhari's Ruga policy, an explosive issue — SOYINKA

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24 — Vanguard, Wednesday, JULY 3, 2019 By Emmanuel Elebeke The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mallam Isaq Modibbo Kawu, says the new broadcasting code billed for launch tomorrow, in Kano will reposition the Nigerian broadcasting landscape and address the preponderance of hate speech and fake news that characterise the industry. He said the new code will reflect some of the recommendations made by the committee constituted by the Commission to review the 2015 general elections with a view to taming the menace of hate speech and unprofessional conduct of some media practitioners in the country. The code is actually the 6th edition and was prepared since 2017. Kawu said the launch was delayed due to a combination of issues. According to him, “I can confirm to you that work on the 6th Edition of The Code had been completed since 2017, but it has not been released since then due to a combination of circumstances. We hope that when launched, it will not only complement the existing codes but help in repositioning the broadcasting landscape in this country. ” Digital Switchover He also used the opportunity to explain the government’s readiness to complete the digital switchover project despite the paucity of funds. He said the Commission has embarked on an elaborate rollout plan in all the six geopolitical zones of the country, especially Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano where potential investors are eager to move in and explore the vast opportunities in the project. He said: “We are about to conclude the installation of facilities for Gombe; while the stakeholders are determined to move into the biggest media markets of Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt in the near future. That is part of an elaborate nation-wide rollout plan, along with a definitive timeline for the switch off of Analogue transmission in Jos, Abuja, Ilorin, Kaduna, Enugu, and Osogbo”. He said a new timetable will be released once it has been approved by the Board of the Commission but, however, assured that the Commission will direct that PAY TV operators desist from the further carriage of free terrestrial TV channels as soon as analogue Switch off is concluded. N4bn debt owed by broadcast licensees Aba on the world map again Continues from Page educators, job seekers and businesses. Head, Brand & Reputation, SSA at Google, Mojolaoluwa Aderemi- Makinde said: “We’re doing this because we believe that more needs to be done to empower young Africans to succeed in the digital world.” She added that the youth make up 60% of Africa’s unemployed, and that developing digital entrepreneurship and creating new job opportunities for them is critical to Africa’s transformative growth Welcoming the Google digital team to Aba, Governor Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, said: “The Government of Abia State is excited to have Google introduce the Digital Skills Training to the business community and local manufacturers in Aba. This will drive business expansion, help to increase sales and create employment opportunities in our state” New Broadcasting code to tackle fake news, hate speech menace Kawu also decried the attitude of some broadcast stations owing the Commission over N4billion on license renewal, warning that the big hammer may fall on them in no distant time. He regretted that “many conspiracy theories challenging smooth regulation of broadcasting in Nigeria have slowed the wheel of BY PRINCE OSUAGWU The Federal Government has declared its determination to provide a lifelong unique identification for every individual physically residing in Nigeria and Nigerians in the Diaspora within the next five years. Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Aziz, made the declaration recently while speaking at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Identity for Africa (ID4Africa) Movement in Johannesburg, South Africa. Addressing the over 1,500 delegates at the world’s largest identity for the development gathering, Engr. Aziz stated that for Nigeria to enhance governance, help its people rise out of poverty, restore growth and participate in the digital economy, there was a need for a unique digital identification platform that is linked to functional identification registries for accessing services. Ikpeazu, represented by the secretary of state government, Mr Chris Ezem, said the world is now a global village as a result of information technology and Abia through the Digital Skills Training by Google will be able to key into the digital narrative, giving Aba, the commercial hub in Nigeria, the needed visibility in the world map” According to Ikpeazu, “ Government is keyed into eliminating waste, building more roads and repairing more in this second tenure. This digital launch has come at a better place to complement these efforts. Meanwhile we are demanding from Google to establish Abia state ICT policy, digital centres in all corners of Abia state and build internet centres particularly in Abia state universities to enable the students key into ICT before they come out of school. “ We are ready to support Google because the government is particularly interested in Aba as the commercial nerve centre of the South East, if not Africa. That is •Kawu progress. We are in an era of persistent pattern of refusal to renew operating licenses. This has led to over N4 billion owed to NBC. We are also challenged by perceived big operators who do not want to be regulated. They owe and want to be allowed to determine what to pay. It’s a very pathetic situation”, he added. FG to cover all Nigerians with digital identification in five years In realisation of the demands to function in the digital economy for sustainable growth, Engr. Aziz told the audience that Nigeria is executing a digital identity ecosystem project endorsed in September 2018 by the Federal Executive Council, the highest decision-making organ of government. Laying bare the grand plan by the government in his paper titled ‘Digital Identity the Cornerstone to Effective Service Delivery’ he revealed that the Strategic Roadmap Vision is to reach universal coverage of robust digital identification in Nigeria by applying an ecosystem approach of enrolling citizens of all ages and legal residents within the set timeframe. “The ecosystem approach of enrolment will constitute trusted partners and a pay-per-play model for successful enrolments. The purpose of the ecosystem approach is to leverage existing capabilities and enrolment facilities of government agencies, partners and why we are establishing the Enyimba Economic City here. “ Enyimba economic city started three years ago. We have completed concept designs. Federal government has three percent in the city and has paid its own share. We have done all the agreements with the host community. Social environmental impact assessment has been done. Everything expected of the State government has been done. We are looking at between now and December to unveil because all the necessary steps to begin, have be taken” he added. President, Association of Tailors and Fashion Designers in Abia State, Onyebuchi Nwigwe, expressed appreciation to Google for introducing the Training saying: “The association is open to receiving the training from Google because they know that as fashion designers and tailors they will be able to properly compete with their counterparts across the world after they have adopted and introduced the digital skills to their business models.” Cybercrime: Microsoft warns Nigerian companies on menacing phishing threat By Juliet Umeh Technology Company, Microsoft, has raised the alarm over the damaging effects of cybersecurity threat called phishing, warning Nigerian companies and individuals to guard against it. Phishing is a cyber attack method which a fraudulent cybercriminal uses to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details from unsuspecting online users, disguising as a trustworthy entity. Typically carried out by email spoofing or instant messaging, it often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website which matches the look and feel of the legitimate site. According to Microsoft, phishing is the number one threat in Nigeria today. It said phishing has the highest growth rate among the four other identified key threats that have risen to the forefront to undermine the fight against cybercrime. The software giant’s recently published Security Intelligence Report, said in several attacks that happened in the past year including an overview of the threat landscape, phishing claims the higher rate. Digital Advisor for Microsoft Middle East & Africa, Mr. Daniel Adeyemo, at a round table conference in Lagos recently, said: “From our ongoing research, we found that in the past year ransomware attacks as a vector declined, software supply chains have become a risk, cryptocurrency private sector operators in Nigeria, as opposed to building new ones.” He added. He said on January 1, 2019 government began the mandatory enforcement of the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for services like application for and issuance of passport, registration of voters, the opening of bank accounts, all consumer credit transactions, purchase of insurance policies, transactions with social security implications, all land related transactions, transactions specified under the contributory health insurance scheme, payment of taxes, transactions pertaining to pension, admission into schools and all other relevant government services. Semicolon partners Henley Business School to eradicate unemployment By Juliet Umeh Technology training institute and innovation hub, Semicolon in partnership with an international institute, Henley Business School, have launched an initiative, targeted at equipping young talented Nigerians with the necessary skills to drive innovation. The launch was themed: Linking the Technology and Innovation through Education, in building the workforce of the future. The partners believe that technology has the power to transform industries and the lives of Nigerians. Chief Executive Officer of Semicolon, Mr. Sam Immanuel, said the mission of the initiative is to catalyse innovation in Nigeria by equipping the talented youth of Nigeria with skills required in the fast-changing world of work that continues to embrace digital strategies. He said that the target is to make Nigeria home to a talented thriving technology community that leads the world in innovation. Immanuel said: “Nigeria is blessed with a large population, a large portion of that population is young people and 57 percent of the adults are between the ages of mining is prevalent, and phishing still remains the preferred attack method. “While this may indicate progress in blocking ransomware attacks against organisations, it also draws our attention to new avenues now being identified for attacks. These new avenues are very easily ignored by organisations but are a recognisable ‘pathway’ for penetration.” He said that with constant ongoing attacks rising to the surface across the African continent, it’s evident that governments and industries have a long way to go with successfully mitigating risks when it comes to cybercrime. However, Adeyemo believed that security is a journey and not a destination and must be addressed holistically by everyone and not by a single vendor. He said: “By working closely with our partners, governments, industry, and the security ecosystem our aim is to ensure consumers and businesses can trust the technology they make use of - not viewing these solutions as barriers to technology adoption.” Also, the company’s Country Manager for Nigeria & Ghana, Mr. Akin Banuso, expressed worry that the trend is gathering momentum that spells danger to the business community, and encouraged organizations to guard against cybercrime. He noted that as organisations continue to digitally transform, so does their exposure to threats within cyberspace. Banuso said: “Organisations need to leverage ever-improving capabilities with advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence to efficiently combat cybercrime. We have a responsibility to educate businesses about these recent developments; this is what encompassed our goal for this event. “While there will always be new threats, attacks and technologies, organizations, and companies can begin to take action today to address security concerns and improve their security postures. It is critical for companies to strengthen their core security hygiene across areas like monitoring, antivirus, patch, and operating systems, adopt modern platforms and comprehensive identity, security and management solutions, and to leverage features offered within cloud services.” He added: “It is just as important to create education and awareness across employee populations in order to build and sustain a pervasive security culture.” 18 and 35. Unfortunately, about 60 percent of that population is either unemployed or underemployed. “We are on a journey to eradicate unemployment by driving inclusive and profitable growth. We are doing this by empowering a generation of techpreneruers that will solve problems faced by Nigeria-and the world. Also, Vice-Dean Africa, Henley Business School, Mr. Jean-Pierre Choulet said the school was inspired by the sheer dynamism and creativity seen in Nigeria and decided to see what more the institute could do to bring it’s applied teaching approach to the country. He said: “Our new partnership with Semicolon is a perfect match with Henley providing the management expertise and Semicolon the digital innovation. According to the partners, both of them have a track record of supporting entrepreneurship. They added that one of their projects will be creation of an innovation catalyst, an agile and modern framework that will allow them to ensure amazing ideas are detected, supported and maintained after launch.
Vanguard, Wednesday, JULY 3, 2019 — 25 Surviving in Nigerian business environment requires strong business focus — Biodun Omoniyi VDC, CEO Managing Director of VDT limited, Mr Biodun Omoniyi, is a restless man. As a fresh Engineering graduate in 1989, Omoniyi knew he was not cut out to carry files looking for paid employment. His restless nature had sent signals to his membrane that the answer rested in establishing his own company and become employer of labour. His first instinct was to delve into the Information and Communications, ICT space. the desire gave birth to Bitcom Systems Limited,a System integration company. Typical of a restless mind, twelve years after, Omoniyi was also to establish VDT Communications Limited in 2001. VDT focuses mainly on providing Broadband Communications Service to the growing data-centric financial sector of the Nigerian economy. He has since lead the growth of VDT through his dynamic management style from the then one branch office to the multi-branch entity it is today. In 2014, Omoniyi led a consortium of three companies including his VDT and Bitcom to bid for and won the coveted 2.3 GHz spectrum auctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. Today, the spectrum has helped Omoniyi’s VDT to launch an advanced 4G LTE broadband service said to be close to a 5G service platform He told Hi-Tech how the journey of his venture into into the ICT space has been since after school and what businesses must do to survive in Nigerian business environment. Excerpts; By Prince Osuagwu ou made headlines in 2014 Ywhen BitFlux group you are part of grabbed the 2.3 GHz spectrum auction by the Nigerian Communications Commission, against well-known telecom giants in Nigeria. What has that spectrum helped you achieve? Bitcom group was a special purpose vehicle to acquire that spectrum. We knew that the spectrum would be an important factor in our strategy to institutionalise a strong network in the broadband market. Today, the result is tremendous growth in a market many operators are closing shops daily. The spectrum is responsible for our reputation in the enterprise market and our confidence in venturing into the retail side of the market, now Now, you are looking at expanding your services to retail broadband services, how better do you think you have covered the enterprise segment? In the enterprise broadband market, I will say we are a giant. We have made much progress in the enterprise market to the extent that we now have about 33 offices nationwide from just three when we started in 2001. We can dedicate this to our loyal customers who have also confessed to have enjoyed excellent services from us, all these years. We believe we can take that same success into the retail broadband market to show the general populace what quality broadband service should look like. We want to show the world that what it does not take only low prices to compete in a market like ours, but more of excellent quality. I believe Nigerians are actually ready to pay for proven quality services when they see one. So, I will not say we are coming to compete for only low prices but with added value, in terms of good service You have just introduced what you called Advanced 4G LTE service package. What makes it advanced, and, how is it different from the conventional 4G LTE packages we know? What makes it advanced is our infrastructure. The infrastructure we are using to offer this service is a brand new infrastructure that was built from the ground up, to be able to offer LTE services. You probably would have been hearing about 5G services, with Advanced 4G LTE we are taking you there. With it, we are more like, practicing the future, now. We know that many other people providing these services do so with legacy systems; some of them probably did not even start from 4GLTE. So having an LTE platform, ab initio, actually differentiates our services. This equipment will eventually translate into quality services the customers would now experience on our platform. 5G is the catchphrase now, and from what you are saying it appears you’re building momentum towards 5G? Like I said 5G is actually the immediate future, it is not here yet, but it is almost here. What I can confirm now is that we have the specifications, but in terms of the actual product, it is not really in the market, anywhere. What we are saying is that with the applications we’ve built today which we are hoping 5G will actually enhance, definitely, when it berths, maybe in another year, two or three, we will be one of the first companies in Nigeria to offer services on it. Our infrastructure is primed for that already. Every broadband innovation is launched in Lagos, when Nigeria is in need of broadband services in rural areas. Does it mean that all services must be commercially driven? First, I will not blame businesses concentrating on servicing the Lagos market alone. We all know that Lagos is the economic hub and heart of Nigeria and most of these businesses providing services here are using private capital, which respects only return on investment. So, the first instinct for any businessman is to first, provide services where he can get good returns, and, Lagos actually offers that. However, Lagos does not make the whole of Nigeria. For us, we have an expansionary mind. Immediately after the launch in Lagos, we will move on to five other commercial cities in Nigeria, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, and Onitsha. Thereafter, we can take the next step. This is the general evolution of how our services are being introduced in Nigeria. Everybody I know that offers broadband services in Nigeria, has a bitter Right of Way story to tell, are you an exception? No, I am not. As a player in this market, I definitely have stories to share. However, I just want to be able to throw more lights on wireless technology in relation to the fibre links that are actually required in this right of way. As good as everybody says fibre technology would give better broadband experience, the truth is that when you are looking at the retail market, the quickest way to reach the masses is the wireless technology. But of course, these wireless technologies need a kind of broadness that the fibre links provide. The two actually work hand in hand. Whatever affects the fibre links affects the wireless providers. For us, we also have some fibre cables used in linking our base stations; and it’s been quite difficult to make those available even within Lagos itself for sometimes now because Lagos state government has not granted a license to anybody to be able to Like I said 5G is actually the immediate future, it is not here yet, but it is almost here; what I can confirm now is that we have the specifications, but in terms of the actual product, it is not really in the market, anywhere do interlinking. Although, there’s also advancement in radio technology that can enable use of this spectrum to do inter-base station links, of course, it’s a lot cheaper once that right of way has been granted and the fibre is laid. So I am appealing to the authorities to open up the market so that we can further deepen the broadband penetration in Nigeria By Juliet Umeh Ptelecommunications an-African 4GLTE group, Smile Telecoms, has formally entered into a partnership with Skyroam Simo, one of the world’s leading mobile Platform as a Service company providing global data access services, to enable more Africa mobile users to seamlessly connect to its services. Explaining what informed the partnership, Smile’s Group CEO, Ahmad Farroukh, stated that “Smile is a leading 4GLTE carrier in Africa and we are always open to new and innovative technologies to bring continued value add and benefits to our users. Our partnership with Skyroam SIMO will leverage its leading position in global virtual SIM platform and together bring the best service and value to our pan-African users.” He said SIMO App emerges at •Omoniyi Telecom industry is highly volatile and a lot of operators in your genre of telecom business have closed down. What’s your survival strategy? There is no gainsaying we really operate in a very difficult environment in Nigeria. To run a successful business in Nigeria takes the grace of God. It’s not by anyone’s doing. However, there are also other basic tenets that I will say have kept us going overtime. One is maintaining a singular focus on where we are going. Another is that we have been blessed with good team members, highly committed, dedicated members of staff and management and also board. The things we set out to do are not too many. We just simply stay focused. When we started 18 years ago, my aim was to make sure that every corporation, especially banks actually get a test of our services. We just concentrated on doing that despite getting offers from different corporations to do other things different from our core competences. I rejected all the offers despite the huge profit I could make because I preferred to be professional. Is change in business focus why the number of ISPs is drastically waning? In some cases, market forces actually forced some of the ISPs to change business focus. But what actually forced them out of business was not being able to get the required capital base and reserve needed when you make such changes However, I started by saying we the right time to bring access and affordability to mobile data for millions of Africans struggling with expensive Internet prices that keep them out of the market entirely. Skyroam SIMO and its VirtualeSIM technology are said to have the capability of delivering seamless 4G data connection to any user by automatically switching to the best 4G network nearby, ensuring the best reliability and speed. In addition to creating a new way to access data for consumers, Skyroam SIMO helps carriers to develop their market at nearly zero cost by improving the efficiency of acquiring new customers, to ease the hassle of traditional sales channels, and to drive more value by improving the relationship with their customers. This partnership between Smile and SIMO will enable more Smile users to are actually operating in a very difficult terrain where multiple taxations, arbitrary right of way levies and so many forces abound. I keep on saying that the regulators are not supporting indigenous business. Of course, we like it when it is a foreign capital that comes in, so whereas we need to pay more attention to supporting and promoting our own, but the only thing I can say, it will only be by the grace of God that directed us to move to the opposite direction when every other person was moving in a particular direction because we knew that five 10 years, down the line, everybody will move back, so we are building our expertise in that particular direction. What’s your view on the regulation of the Nigerian ICT space? If I have to look at it over a longer term because I have been here for a while, I will say there has been a lot of somersaulting, you move forward and backward which is what the general economy looks like as well. Adekanmbi But, by and large, I must give kudos to telecoms regulators overtime, maybe because of the foundation laid when the GSM companies were coming in; they have been highly strengthened with a lot of knowledgeable people. However, one would have expected that they do more especially to indigenous companies, promote our own, everybody does it. At the end of the day we’re here and the only place we operate is here; the people we’ve been employing are our indigenous people. We even go about developing the youths and making sure they’re properly equipped with the right skills to face the future. It’s only the indigenous operators that can do these, and that’s why I said the regulators needed to actually encourage and support us. Advise government on how to raise the economy with ICT We can’t overemphasise that we have missed our chances. When I was a young graduate, my vision was to manufacture some of those things that we are consuming. In those days, as young engineers, we dreamt of making transistors, but now nobody thinks about that. That dream did not crystallise because of the development chances that we have squandered. Today, if I have an opportunity to influence government policy, it will be on education. The government needs to focus on promoting indigenous businesses to be able to take on certain roles. It was a delight when an indigenous company was given the opportunity to run the TSA. We need more of such opportunities. We also need the government to embrace technology to drive governance. Smile sees value in Skyroam Simo partnership to improve mobile data services leverage Skyroam’s platform of over 135 countries and 200 mobile networks with best coverage and speed, is a big leap forward amongst Africa operators. Founder and CEO of Skyroam, Jing Liu, said that “Skyroam Simo will work with Smile Telecom, a great partner who continues to bring value to its users as a long term strategy, together we will meet the needs of more people in Africa and bring explosive growth in mobile data usage. We will continue to innovate together with leading partners around the world to meet the demands of users where mobile data is becoming a musthave that impact our daily lives.” The partnership also gives International customers from various countries in the world who use Skyroam devices the opportunity to roam on Smile 4GLTE network in all countries of Smile presence.
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03072019 - Buhari's Ruga policy, an explosive issue — SOYINKA

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