TheNewsGuru

Tag: Technology

  • Little role for space tech in nation’s security architecture, By Okoh Aihe

    Little role for space tech in nation’s security architecture, By Okoh Aihe

    By Okoh Aihe

    As the security challenges in the country grow more complex, usually some questions come to mind; for instance, what is the role of the National Space and Research Development Agency (NASRDA) and NIGCOMSAT in assisting and strengthening the nation’s security architecture, that is, if you permit the cliché? Why will they never help to resolve any of the plethora of kidnaps and terrorist activities in the country?

    People are getting exhausted under a punishing surreal anomie, and with no help coming their way, it is a frightening time of holding on to straws hoping that help would come miraculously. With hopelessness in their eyes, they are searching for answers from even the most unlikely sources and some of the platitudes that come out, if they come at all, don’t show us as a serious people.

    I was watching TV just last week and a question close to the aforementioned just popped up. A young man from one of the government organizations responded to the effect that the country will need another satellite to strengthen the capacity of what is already up there in the orbit for the nation to resolve some of the issues assailing us.

    As a reporter who has no demonstrated capacity in space technology and rocket science, one can be very angry at this kind of grandstanding which has little hold on the truth. You are talking of Chibok Girls (2014), the Dapchi Girls (2018), the kidnap at Government Girl’s Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State, (2021 Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State (2021), the Greenfield University (2021), and many more. So many displaced people. Nigeria is now exporting refugees to neighboring countries, scandalously. Thousands more scrounging for daily sustenance in the rubbles of government failure and one young man wants to send another satellite into space! Why don’t you speak the truth about the current space project and its inappropriateness in responding to the present security challenges?

    NARSDA was set up in 1999 with a mission to vigorously pursue the attainment of space capabilities and the enhancement of the quality of life of mankind through space related research and development, capacity building in the fields of science, space law and administration for sustainable national development. The agency, domiciled in the Ministry of Science and Technology, had the pioneering imprimatur of Prof Robert Ajayi Boroffice who is now a successful politician.

    There were big dreams for the agency. Space technology is an elite programme, attracting only the best. When South Korea started their own space journey in the late 80s, the country sent some of her brightest students to the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, from where they launched KITSAT-1 (Our Star) in 1992. A mythical story about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States is that only the most brilliant work in the organization. So, even with his background in Zoology and other areas of academic research, the humble achievements of NARSDA under Boroffice remain well documented.

    However if technology is for solving problems, or put it another way, if offices are set up to achieve certain objectives, the twist in this story will fascinate you. One day in 2006, a Project Management Office of NARSDA simply transmuted into Nigerian Communications Satellite Nigeria Limited (NIGCOMSAT) with allegiance transferred to the Ministry of Communications, instead of remaining under Science and Technology. What should have been the business development unit of NARSDA gained independence through the Nigerian way of doing things, and some of the workers of the space agency led by Ahmed Rufai, left NARSDA to become the pioneer staff of NIGCOMSAT. Rufai became the pioneer Chief Executive.

    From that day, politics and bravura took over commonsense and research activities and, all of a sudden, NARSDA looked sabotaged and derailed, and was struggling for life as the new organization engaged in vile politicking, or politricking might even be more appropriate. The promoters sold impossibilities to the Nigerian public and we accepted them with little questioning, as always. Now we are looking for results, for help from technology that does not exist.

    May 23, 2007, waking up at the hotel that morning in San Jose, one interesting story was splashed on the front page of the New York Times, and the story ran well into the inside pages. Titled, Blocked by U.S., China finds its way to space, the story gave detailed reports of the launch of Nigcomsat-I and how an exultant project manager, Ahmed Rufai told everybody who cared to listen: “We want to be part of the digital economy. We are trying to diversify the economy.” While the business case was for the satellite to pay for itself within seven years, he enthused that the technology would enhance distance learning education programmes for rural areas, online public access to government records, and a video monitoring system of remote oil pipelines to allow quicker responses to spills, among others. The project cost was $300m out of which the state owned Export – Import Bank (ExIm) of China provided $200m in preferential buyers credit, a precondition which only the Great Wall Industry of China was ready to meet, among all the bidders.

    That was good politicking at the international level especially in a world where countries need to engage in loud actions to reinstate their nationhood. Except that back home Rufai had also gone overboard playing his politics. Without any proof of concept, he told the whole nation that NIGCOMSAT had the capacity to give Nigerian free GSM phones and affect the cost of service significantly, but only the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), was blocking its way. The matter went for a Public Hearing at the National Assembly. Rufai could hardly prove his case as he was told in very plain terms by the NCC that his organization was not licensed for last-mile operations.

    Next was the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) project in Abuja and Lagos. With another $470m loan from the Chinese ExIm, the NIGCOMSAT boss coordinated a doomed project which was never planned to work. One of the legs of the project was that the Nigerian satellite would be used to coordinate all the cameras. Till tomorrow Nigeria remains in debt as the programme was never completed.

    The Chibok Girls were taken from school in very bizarre circumstances. Some convenient excuses were given why NARSDA or Nigcomsat couldn’t be of any use. The security situation has grown monstrously intense and Nigerians are troubled, hitting the panic button and searching for solutions from their technology. The question here is, was the satellite payload ever designed to solve the kind of problems confronting us at the moment?

    I am sorry to disappoint you. The country has no space technology that can help us out of a self-inflicted security challenge. I hate to accept what one fellow wrote about the Nigerian satellite that the cost was not enough to shop for sausage in a satellite market. The truth really is that the Nigerian satellite has never been more functional than a badly made sausage. Very dead in the skies. After the politics of power grab and influence peddling, only excuses remain in the geostationary orbit. What a pity!

    Okoh Aihe writes from Abuja.

  • Technology will punish you, By Okoh Aihe

    Technology will punish you, By Okoh Aihe

    By Okoh Aihe

    The title of this piece shouldn’t be insulting. It’s obviously not an invective because the fellow I am taking a ride in his Uber car has no reason to be rude to me. Quite a jolly good fellow, he was only trying to explain things to me, taking it that I am ignorant about his trade. In a very exciting voice he tried to educate me in the best way possible for me to understand.

    You see, only three parties are aware of this trip – the rider, the driver and Uber itself. Everything is carefully monitored and managed to ensure that the process is foolproof. There is no opportunity for little tricks. The guys know we are here together. That is technology. If you don’t manage it well, it will punish you.

    I am listening and looking at this fellow with some kind of respect toned with a little splash of amusement. He has no idea how much I have read up on Uber, the founders, the technology, the problems Uber has faced across the world where it operates and, in fact, the very peculiar problems it had to face in Nigeria just to have a foothold in arguably the largest market in Africa.

    Yet the voice is ringing hauntingly, technology will punish you.

    This fellow has very little idea about the profundity of his statement, which is to the effect that if you do not put your house in order and do things well in the way of the modern world, technology will not give you a hiding. Instead, it will spank you. Has this not happened in Nigeria in recent weeks when things literally keeled over, with heads down and heels up and there is so much confusion and untruth across the land?

    As the giant of Africa which we love to call ourselves although we very much hate the other part, the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria only started to have her fair share of telephony from early 2000, and it has been a sweet song. As I write this I am witness to the fact that most of the phones are in the hands of the young people, the very future of our country with little say in the management of their future, the generations that have graduated without jobs and those at school cannot make progress because ASUU is permanently on strike with government unable to have coordinated negotiations. They can see their future up in smokes and nothingness yet the government does not understand the pain, hopelessness and desperation that follow the conversation with an empty stomach or what a future without meaning can instigate somebody to do.

    For us to truly miss the signs that have been there all along means the wrong generation is in power and that generation which is characteristically antediluvian was walking too far away from reality. We underestimated the anger in their body and the technology in their hands. While the relics of a generation of power snored #EndSARS was born overnight and the gathering of the people was instantaneous, like fuel and matches, romancing each other. Of course that is what we have done over the years by exposing our youths to the uncertainties of life. Oh, like fuel and matches.

    Technology will punish you. Very painfully we reaped the hurricane of youth meltdown and the pain will live with us for a very long time to come.

    It therefore sounded very hollow and ludicrous when, in the midst of all that fire and brimstone, say a near Armageddon, we still held on to the straws of Fake News and Social Media, blaming them for the trouble in the land instead of blaming the irresponsibility of governance foisted on our nation over the years. It is Fake News that the young people out of school have no jobs or that even the few government jobs available are given to those who know somebody or sold outright to the highest bidder; It is Fake News that students have been out of school and that COVID-19 only intruded as an unfortunate intervening alibi; It is Fake News that our business environment is so stultifying that it drives away even the most stubborn optimist; and its obviously pure poison when you mix Fake News with Social Media. The result is an alchemy of disaster.

    Technology will punish you.

    In March 1894, Frederick Burr Opper was already using his political cartoons to satirize a newspaper mogul who was raking in profit by deceiving the reading public. In one of those cartoons he was said to have used the term Fake News. The terms comes with so many definitions depending upon your side of the divide. At this time there were no computers, no mobile phones, and no tablets; none of these gizmos which define our modern life was on the prowl at the time. Above all, there was no Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America who seems to have recreated the definition of Fake News. So while Opper would look at a publisher smile to the bank by practicing sensational journalism or just deliberately mislead for selfish wealth creation, the meaning today is totally different, some kind of psychedelic ventriloquy by some politicians who are afraid of even their own shadows. Whatever is not in their interest is Fake News. Unfortunately, the world does not rest on anybody’s head nor erudition only for the politically exposed or the office holder whose reign is as transient as a mirage.

    Technology will punish you.

    Mobile telephony is enjoying a robust traction with Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and a slew of other channels just popping up every day. With a phone in the hand, the Nigerian youth has become a citizen journalist; he can speak for himself and for others like him who suffer the shame of not being born by the thieving few. Recently they spoke for themselves through #EndSARS and the tremor is still being felt across the land. The Nigerian government really finds it very difficult to believe or does not want to believe that the phone in your hand is a powerful broadcast media, taking you live to the world from your living room. Some of such broadcast could be reality, others could be plain mischief. But it is the responsibility of government to eradicate those conditions that breed mischief.

    Technology will punish you.

    The Nigeria Broadcasting Code defines Fake News as “A deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional broadcast media or social media.”

    The foregoing ingeniously captures the meaning of Fake News from the beginning of time. The little problem is who is qualified to be the author of truth? Is it the government who operates from the platform of a political party and sees every dissenting voice as an opposition voice, the voice of an enemy or simply a wailing wailer, whatever that means?

    My little take here is that technology is like a genie, the more you try to take it down the more resilient it becomes. Without jobs, the Nigerian youths have already been empowered with smart phones in their pockets, a development the government rues today. With bad governance and restricted access to the good things of life, those phones will be used to make life unbearable for government or for plain mischief. But I think the easier route is for the government to be seen as doing something with the potentials of enhancing life in the country, those phones will be turned to instruments of praise, singing about a government that has come to do the country well.

    Technology will punish you.

    I hope our regulators are watching? As the American elections simmered to a crescendo, the President, Donald Trump, told his own story about a process that was being corrupted in order to deny him victory. Recall that when Trump spoke all the networks would be knocking each other over to take it live and boost their ratings. But on this very day, without warning and without prior discussions with each other, some of the networks simply unplugged him on the grounds that the President was spreading baseless information without any iota of proof. Twitter had already started to tag some of his twits, warning about the veracity of the content.

    No regulator in America has mumbled anything about government being embarrassed. That is democracy in action. They are simply saying that the President is not God but man that can fall into fallacy. These are some of the little examples we should imbibe so that we don’t have to always fight fire with petrol as we did in Lekki Tollgate recently.

    Okoh Aihe writes from Abuja.

     

  • COVID-19 is beyond technology – President Buhari

    COVID-19 is beyond technology – President Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is beyond technology, power, and resources.

    President Buhari, who stated this on Monday during an online meeting with the Governors’ Forum, said there was need to continue to educate and persuade Nigerians to accept the reality of the situation.

    He urged the Governors to work closely with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to engender better harmony in the daunting task of checking the pandemic.

    He also disclosed that the PTF had briefed him on the next steps in the national response to the pandemic.

    Noting that the pandemic was “beyond technology, power, and resources,” President Buhari said countries that had all those, were recording the highest number of casualties around the world.

    “We have to be very careful. We need to continue to educate and persuade the people to accept the reality of the situation, and do all that is necessary to stay safe,” the President said.

    The meeting also discussed economic and security issues, among others, with the Governors commending the President on the “leadership and direction” he has given the country in combating COVID-19.

    Meanwhile, the President has extended easing of the COVID-19 lockdown until June.

  • We have technologies that can bring immediate jobs — NBTI DG

    Mr Mohammed Jibrin, Director-General (DG) of National Board for Technology Incubation(NBTI), says the board is ready to bring in technologies that will create immediate jobs to support hardworking and performing governors.

    Jibrin said this on Monday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by Dr Aishatu Umar, Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Gombe state.

    The DG said there were also other technologies which could be deployed to create wealth for the people which to him, formed the real political strategy of governance that should happen.

    “People should be empowered; people should be happy, and productive. A situation should be created such that when one wakes up in the morning he will find a place to go,’’ he said.

    Jibrin, who enumerated several ongoing projects in Gombe which were near completion, said he was happy to note that science, technology and innovation on agricultural activities specifically took place in the technology incubation centre.

    He said the development was an added encouragement to the board because in 2016 it fabricated 10 threshers for threshing post harvest products in the premises of Ministry of Agric in Gombe.

    He also said the threshers were distributed to cooperative groups and in total there were over 100 beneficiaries.

    The DG disclosed that more were still demanded and he had sent a consultant to find out how the previous machines were utilised and he got the report that the people were happy.

    Jibrin informed the visitors that he had recently posted a new and experienced centre manager to Gombe upon the recommendations of management.

    He further said he wanted the Gombe centre to be more active, hence his advice to the new manager on the need to ensure stronger linkage to the state government.

    The DG pledged collaborations with the Honorable commissioner in order to move the programme forward and to realise its aims and objectives.

    Earlier, Dr Aishatu Umar, the Commissioner, said she came to solicit collaboration, synergy and technical advice from the NBTI.

    She said one of the objectives and manifestos of Gombe governor as part of his drive for science and technology was establishment of technology incubation centres in each local government area in Gombe state.

    “We have just commissioned an industrial park of over 10,000 hectares. You can see why we are here; and for it to be viable, technology incubation must be improved,’’ she said.

    She added that the people of Gombe needed to be sensitised in order to facilitate the establishment of 11 incubation centres in the 11 local government areas of the state.

  • Technology used to incite violence in Nigeria, Buhari raises alarm

    Technology used to incite violence in Nigeria, Buhari raises alarm

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday noted that technology has been abused as a tool for instigating violence in the country, instead of its good intent.
    He spoke at the State House while receiving the Chairman and Board members of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
    He said “Generally, technology has been enabler for good however in recent times, we are seeing this platform more and more being used to instigate violence and hate.
    “Nowhere is this disturbing trend more apparent than in the various media platform, where fake news is gaining momentum and is being used to divide and destabilise communities and indeed nations around the world.
    “We see images being manipulated to give legitimacy to lies. We hear voice on radio preaching falsehood and hatred. We also read stories that are already sponsored by individuals who stand to gain at the expense of truth, peace and harmony,” he said.
    Despite all these, he said, that the powerful weapon that can counter such manipulations is truth.
    He said: “Like I mentioned a few months ago, at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, since digital information age is borderless, this means we must be ready to respond with the best weapon we have; truth.”
    The President urged journalists to save their profession by tackling the growing trend of fake news.
    “Journalism as a profession is primarily based on being truthful. With the growing increase in fake news, the future of your profession is under threat and therefore you must be ready to correct this and safeguard your professionalism and reputation,” the President advised.
    While giving the FRCN a special assignment, the President said: “In the case of Federal radio Corporation of Nigeria, you must proactively develop programmes based on truth, facts and broader national interest.
    “You should also have strategies to react to fake information and sensitize our citizens not to believe stories at face value especially when the source is unknown or not credible, where supporting facts are not available.”
    Commenting on the requests presented by the FRCN Board, the President advised the Corporation to make a formal presentation through their supervising ministry.
    Speaking earlier, the Board Chairman of FRCN, Aliyu Hayatu, advocated more funding for the broadcast outfit, in order to compete favourably with its equals.
    “It should be noted here, Mr President, that powerful foreign countries such as Germany, China, Britain France and the US, spend the equivalent of billions of Naira of their tax payers’ money to broadcast in local Nigerian languages.
    “Only recently the British government set aside about two hundred and seventy million pounds sterling, the equivalent of one hundred and thirty-five billion naira, to enable the BBC expand and boost its foreign languages broadcast. As part of this expansion, the BBC is now broadcasting in lgbo, Yoruba and Pidgin English, in addition to the well establish Hausa language broadcast which has now been on, for well over fifty years.
    “The sponsors of these foreign broadcast outfits are not competing with each other in broadcasting to Nigerians for immediate gains in terms of Naira and Kobo. The competition is for the soul and mind of Nigerians. The regrettably disturbing result is that because of the very weak transmission capability of particularly, the FRCN, Nigerians are left with no option but to listen more and more to these foreign radio broadcasts,” he said.
    He pledged FRCN’s unwavering support for the success of the current administration’s next level agenda.

  • Thinking Technology, Thinking Malu, By Hope Eghagha

    By Hope Eghagha

    One of the wonders of the 21st century to me is the power of technology; that is, the power of science and the power of environmental transformation through scientific reasoning. Whoever imagined that in so short a time man would develop drone technology that could be deployed to the kind of use that we currently associate it with? With drone technology you could travel without travelling, you know, strike something positive or negative from a remote place, with no real physical contact. What about robotic engineering? That one! You could deploy robots to fight a war or clear a large portion of land for farming. It is this same spirit that has led to the driverless-car technology! Can you beat that? A car that is self-driven even inside the madness that is Lagos, meandering successfully between crazy danfo drivers in say, Mushin or Oshodi or some God-forsaken areas of Lagos or Warri or Ibadan, reckless okada riders and drunken Yahoo boys! Technology, my brother, will not kill us. I got really disturbed that while the world dreamt and deployed technology; we were dreaming and deploying malu!

    My mind started wandering and wondering about technology during the high-tension week of RUGA, the malu matter that almost exploded the fragile nature of our dithering republic. In other words, I wondered why we were thinking malu while the rest of the world was thinking technology. Malu! Nama! Suya– the potential cause of a conflagration in a federation that had managed to hold itself together some sixty odd years! I wondered whether we could not start thinking technology in resolving the Malu matter. Last year, it was a House of Representatives member, a lady if I remember correctly, that pummeled us out of our infantile ignorance when on the floor of the House she asserted that ‘malu’ is more important than the life of the herdsman. I didn’t find it funny. It was educative. It was revelatory. I remembered Cyprian Ekwensi’s novel, Burning Grass, and things fell into place. I sat back to weigh the import of that definite assertion: the life of malu is more important than the life of the nomad! Did any of us in the southern part of the country ever attach any importance to that bloody meat we love to consume every day? I doubt if we ever did. As an aside, this same malu is deified in parts of India, yet it has not led to a world war because we eat the hell out of it in Nigeria and Brazil (Burrito) or Argentina or Australia!

    If technology can produce genetically-modified crops, why can’t it be deployed to reduce wandering cows so aptly captured by J.P. Clark in that poem of angst poignantly titled Fulani Cattle? Technology and malu! We all got used to the roadside suya before grilling came and we are told that we could actually prepare our suya at home with minimum supervision. Be sure that it won’t taste the same! The roadside culture is part of the ethic of eating suya. Suya that is made at home by a non-Hausa or Fulani is no suya at all! Is this not a myth? There are some of us who have given up beef for health reasons and the aroma of suya is haram to our sensibilities. So, there! But we are also told that about ten thousand sad cows are murdered daily in Lagos to meet our daily consumption demands! Waow! Is that not a frightening figure? Is that not a smiling-to-the-bank fact for the owners of cattle? So, who is ready to give up that cattle fight so easily?

    Our big mouths are wide open every day in Lagos to kill ten thousand beasts to thrill our palates. Is that not enough reason for the spirit of malu to throw confusion into the land in order to quench our desire for killing harmless beasts? The nomad used to carry sticks around to shepherd those docile animals. These days the some nomads carry AK-47 weapons! Hahahahahaha! Have they gone nuclear or technological in securing the cows? Boy, who is ahead in the struggle for possession, for control of economic resources? Which makes me wonder why the same technology cannot be deployed to feeding and maintaining the cows. The arid lands of the desert around the northern fringes of the country could be fully harnessed as feeding and breeding ground for cattle. Consider the notorious Sambisa Forest! With technology we could wipe out the Boko Haram scoundrels and convert the land to a massive ranch, scientifically reinforced yearly for continuity.

    Technology and Malu! I visited Israel around 2011 and was amazed by what the Israelis had done with watering the desert, by piping water (is it from the Mediterranean Sea?) to farms thousands of miles away because of the challenge of land. I saw that fruit which I love – bananas – everywhere, looking as luscious and unearthly as they come! Where nature proved stubborn science came to the rescue. Just imagine the scenario if Israel were to depend on Palestinians for water and agricultural resources! Hehehehehehehe!

    So, let technology come to the rescue. Whoever developed the Ruga idea and the proposed manner of implementation was either infinitely arrogant and insensitive or disrespectful of the rules governing cultural and social relations particularly in a multinational setting. One of the obligations of leadership is to read the mood and feelings of the people all the time. There is palpable fear and concern in the country currently that the presidency is sworn to promote a clannish agenda that is in dissonance, that counters the received system of management of plurality which the country had enjoyed even under military administrations. The Ruga idea and timing is akin to Decree 34 of 1966 which led to massive resistance even though its promulgators claimed to have good intentions. If the presidency is not aware that there is simmering anger against the government in the country, then the nation is in danger. This is not party politics. It is the reality. Government must learn to say the right things, do the right things and generally give hope to the people.

    Malu Technology! I didn’t set out to write a serious essay, yet here I am sounding serious. No one, except the gun-toting herdsmen, should take ‘Malu technology’ seriously. Of course, their patrons too! We the consumers can skip malu meals for a while and stay healthy. After all, our doctors warn against malu consumption after Age 50, particularly those battling with high blood pressure and high cholesterol issues. Won’t it be great if we deploy technology to breed the cows in a ranch somewhere close to Fulani country and used the same technology to transport the finished product to the rest of the country? If the AK47 has been deployed to protect cows something should be deployed to respect the plurality of the constituent parts of the nation. Technology is the way to go! The world is thinking technology and we are thinking malu! If that is not malu behaviour then we may need to re-understand malu!

  • 2019: Technology trends to watch out for in Nigeria

    Technology is impacting communities and markets in unprecedented ways in Nigeria and at such remarkable speed that sets the country apart and propels the entire African continent forward.

    This transformation comes with massive commercial potential for both local and international business.

    As we head into 2019, these are the technologies that are driving innovation and change and their future potential, according to Nasir Yammama, an MIT trained creative technologist and entrepreneur.

    Digital connectivity impact

    A breakdown of the structure of Nigeria’s economy shows that the services sector accounts for 50.25% of total output while agriculture accounts for 28.65% and industries account for 21.11.

    A great deal of the development of the service sector is as a result of digital connectivity; which not only increases the availability of goods and services but fosters collaboration between innovators in different places.

    Despite challenges, Nigeria has over 60 million potential e-consumers, presenting a great opportunity for the ever increasing list of e-commerce and digital payments startups.

    In the public sector, we have seen how digital technologies have revolutionised vital tasks from payments to procurements.

    Looking forward, I believe digital connectivity will break down more barriers between formal and informal markets and even open new markets.

    FinTech boom

    FinTech will definitely see a boom as there are confirmed reports of most of the telecommunication companies from MTN to Airtel and GLO all targeting (mobile) banking licences for 2019. This opportunity is largely because of the ineffectiveness of the current FinTech solutions in truly reducing financial exclusion in the country.

    Crowdfunding solutions

    There is a rise of crowdfunding solutions especially in big sectors like agriculture which constitutes majorly of smallholder farmers who lack access to finance.

    Companies that use digital technology to bridge the financial gap for smallholder farmers like Farmcrowdy, Thrive-Agric and Farmer in Suit work with the hitherto unthinkable promise of giving the working professional a window into farming while supporting the rural farmer with much needed finance; sharing the profit of the harvest at the end between the investor and the farmer.

    Shared economy

    The shared economy is also booming because of digital connectivity. Ride sharing businesses from Uber to Taxify are flourishing while a crop of new companies with a fast growing user base dominate the shared commerce space. Further disruptions like these will surface in 2019 largely because of the development of the physical, telecommunication and financial infrastructure along which commercial activity flows.

    Technology for health and education

    In education as well as health, we have seen some disruptive use of digital technologies from companies like Flexisaf with management solutions and educational delivery of the highest standard, yielding hundreds of millions of Naira in revenue.

    Technologies in health will be more prevalent in 2019 especially with efforts from local and international agencies in seeing Nigeria achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

    Big data, analytics and blockchain tech

    Because of challenges in data collection and non-existent legacy technologies, Big Data and Analytics have not really had a mark in the Nigerian technological crusade.

    With a massive availability and flow of data ranging from government records to election data and social media, it is likely that 2019 will usher the new-age of big data and analytics opportunities in the country.

    This is similar with block-chain technologies, where cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have gained global popularity and no doubt sparked a lot of interest in Nigeria.

    I believe Nigeria can spearhead an African blockchain revolution, especially in creation and management of trusted temper-proof records in line with the country’s age-old battle against corruption.

    Other big opportunities lie in the financial sector for blockchain technologies.

    Digital innovations

    Digital technologies occupy only a fragment of the technology ecosystem which transcends data and connectivity.

    Areas like additive manufacturing, robotics, the internet of things and renewable energies are all driving innovation and change in Nigeria.

    For a country with a power and electrification debacle, renewable energies ranging from low-cost solar cells to wind-powered mini grids have demonstrated capacity to deliver electric power to Nigerians in a way that national grids have failed.

    Also, innovations and new technologies in seeds and fertilizer production are instrumental to Nigeria’s rising agricultural productivity.

    Drones

    Drones are popular today in Nigeria especially in multimedia but there is certainly room for their application in agriculture, oil & gas and other sectors in the near future. Perhaps 2019 is the year Nigeria will see more investment and focus from businesses and innovators on technologies beyond digital applications.

    Inarguably, Nigeria’s technology sector is fostering innovation and connectivity across markets and communities alike.

    With the advantages of a young and rapidly increasing population, businesses, policy makers and investors must be ready to take on the challenges that still lie ahead in order to maximise the opportunities that this wave of disruption portends for the country and its people.

    We must work towards the even spread of the benefits of technology across the entire country; ensuring that startups and innovations thrive just as well in Lokoja as they do in Lagos.

    We must promote technology-driven problem solving across our unique problems whether it is desert encroachment in Katsina or it is women farmers’ access to market in Benue.

    Technology fuels genuine growth. 2019 will belong to those who are able to find new and better ways of unleashing its transformational capacities on our local problems.

     

  • TNG list: Top tech events of 2018

    As 2018 wraps up, we take a look at some tech events that heralded the year.

    PP-18

    One of top technology events that heralded the year 2018 is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 (PP-18) that held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 29 October to 16 November.

    The PP-18 is one of the topmost tech events of 2018 as the ITU, being a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), is the body responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the world.

    Also, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme decision-making body of the ITU that convenes representatives of the Union’s 193 member states every 4 years, which makes PP-18 the foremost tech event of 2018.

    At PP-18, ITU established 4-year roadmap and elected a management team with Nigeria losing out as ITU member states elect first female bureau director.

    Also at PP-18, Nigeria and 12 other countries got ITU membership seats

    Telecom World 2018

    ITU Telecom is part of the (ITU), and the ITU Telecom World is the global platform for governments, corporates and tech SMEs to accelerate ICT innovation for economic growth and social good, which underscores its importance as a foremost tech event.

    Smart digital development headlined the opening of ITU Telecom World 2018, where it became known that commercial superfast 5G networks will start deployment after the year 2020, even with MTN’s CEO alluding Africa is not ready for 5G technology yet.

    While ITU Telecom World 2018 delved into timely set of topics including connecting the unconnected; the future of telecommunications; wireless technologies for Africa; technological developments and impacts in 5G, and more, the 2019 edition which will hold in Hungary in September will focus on smart digital innovations that can enhance lives, and the key role that SMEs can play within the ICT ecosystem [Read more here].

    eNigeria 2018

    eNigeria is a Conference and Exhibition organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

    eNigeria 2018 Conference and Exhibition held between November 5 to November 7 and had in attendance IT stakeholders, experts from the industry, academia, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, private sector, investors, start-up entrepreneurs among other IT dignitaries.

    The conference and exhibition was targeted at gathering local and international IT experts to discover new opportunities provided by increasing advancement in technology innovation.

    It is also to encourage start-ups and ICT entrepreneurs, aimed at accelerating the development and access to digital products, services to millions of Nigerians, and to ultimately create Africa’s largest single digital market by 2020.

    GITEX 2018

    GITEX is an annual consumer computer and electronics trade show, exhibition, and conference that takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

    In its continuous efforts to foster the growth of technology ecosystem, the NITDA showcased Nigeria’s ICT innovation at the 2018 edition of the annual consumer computer and electronics trade show.

    It was at GITEX 2018 that Dr. Isa Pantami, Director General of NITDA announced that Nigeria is working on a framework for the adoption of blockchain technologies in the financial sector of the economy.

    Google for Nigeria

    Google for Nigeria brings together users, partners, stakeholders and friends of Google in the country, providing a platform for the Internet giant to highlight its commitment and look at new products and investments for the region.

    The Internet giant held second edition of the event in July, where the foremost tech company announced more products and programs to help more people in Nigeria and across Africa benefit from the opportunities the web has to offer.

    The Internet search giant also announced the launch of Google Station to power free WiFi for over 200 million Nigerians at the Google for Nigeria 2018 event [Read more here].

    SMWLagos

    Social Media Week Lagos (SMWLagos) is a weeklong conference that provides ideas, trends, insights and inspiration to help people and businesses understand how to achieve more in a hyper-connected world.

    The event features a central stage for keynotes and panels, multiple rooms for workshops, masterclasses and presentations, and an area dedicated to co-working, networking and interactive installations.

    At the 2018 edition of the event, 10-startups pitched disrupting products and services at the LaunchedInAfrica, a platform for African-led early-stage startups to showcase products and services that are disrupting industries across the continent [Read more here].

    CES 2018

    Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association.

    Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.

    At the 2018 edition of the show, Director-General (DG) of the NITDA, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, underwent a VR immersion, even as Byton unveiled a car that emphasizes on in-cabin experience of passengers, with multiple independent displays and a ginormous 49-inch, wrap-around front screen.

    Apple Special Event

    Apple special events are a thing to go as mouthwatering products are especially released by Apple during the events.

    The premium flagship smartphones maker announced the launch of iPhones XS, XS Max, and XR at its Cupertino headquarters in California on 12th September.

    MWC 2018

    Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a GSM Association (GSMA) event that is the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry.

    It incorporates a thought-leadership conference that features prominent executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world.

    Nokia launched its curved glass design Nokia 8 Sirocco smartphone at the MWC 2018 event, where Samsung unveiled novel Galaxy S9 phone with augmented reality features.

     

    Did we miss out on any tech event held in 2018 that should have made this list, let us know with a comment below.

     

  • Stakeholders underscore need for technology in education

    Stakeholders underscore need for technology in education

    Some education and technology stakeholders have underscored the need for integration of technology in education for effective performance and development.

    This was the focus of the Edu-Tech Fire Side Chat Series organised by Smart Kids Zone, an NGO in partnership with Global Innovation Learning Lab and AI6 in Abuja on Friday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme had the theme “Emerging Technologies and The Future of Education.’’

    Mrs Olusola Bankole, President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, FCT Chapter, said technology helped children learn faster and more effectively.

    Bankole said from experience, technology made learning more engaging and improved the performance of children.

    “When children see this devices and applications, like the Google Classroom, 3D printer, they get excited and want to learn more. I have not met any child who does not like using technology to learn.

    “Some of these technology makes for more time management, children can read ahead and come to class to discuss, it makes for more engagement and interaction.”

    She added that children with special needs also found it easier learning with technology than writing with pen and paper.

    She said many schools found it expensive to deploy technology in teaching, but advised that schools should start gradually and eventually build on it.

    Dr Collins Agu, Director, Cooperate Planning and Strategy, National Information Technology Development Agency, called for more deployment of technology to schools at the grassroots.

    Agu said projects should be introduced to integrate technology in the grassroots through digital learning process, which he said the agency was doing.

    “We need to go to the rural areas and identify their challenges from primary school level.

    “The books given to them by UBEC should be digitised and put in some new emerging tools like SCRATCH programming at an early age, so they can easily migrate to mainframe computers as they grow up.

    SCRATCH is a visual programming language and online community targeted primarily at children, by coding with ‘blocks’ in the editor.

    “For that to happen energy is needed and it is a challenge because energy is a key driver of all these technologies.

    “Government and stakeholders can come in and adopt these approaches because digital literacy is key. We have to go to the grassroots to give them this tools that do not cost much and are durable.”

    He added that the youth must also be fully integrated into this system to maximise the benefit for the country.

    “This is where you drive the knowledge economy because you are shifting from resources to knowledge.‘’

    He however said that these technologies should be adapted to suit local contents for sustainability.

    Mr Agwu Amogu, CEO, Global Innovation Learning Lab, said that in order to compete with the rest of the world, Nigeria must catch up in adopting emerging technologies.

    He said the teachers needed to be up to date on emerging technologies for effective delivery.

    “We can have all the learning applications but if the teacher is not on that brain wave nothing happens.

    “We want to see how we can create specific training programmes based on 21st century teaching.

    “There is a need to have one teacher training institution where any teacher in the country must pass through to learn all these skills.’’

    He added that technology should be used to positively engage youths as a way of moving the economy to a knowledge based economy.

    According to him, all stakeholders must start this conversation in their little way until it becomes a priority that bring about change in the education sector.

    Mr Attah Igoche, CEO, Aiivon Innovation Hub, an organisation that trains students on ICT, said the biggest challenge was scaling down the emerging technologies to schools in the rural areas.

    Igoche, however, said the challenge should not prevent the starting of these technologies in schools that are ready.

    “We need to make sure that our children are able to compete with children in developed nations especially in the 21st century, because the traditional method of teaching is fast fading away.

    “Also whatever programmes being develop must be useful to the children, so when these technologies are introduced to them, they would not find it difficult to use.’’

    Mrs Chinenye Udeh, Programme Manager, Smart Kids Zone, said the chat series was an initiative to bring together school owners, parents, government policy makers and tech community to encourage conversation for action.

    Udeh said the programme was aimed at bridging the gap between the skills needed in the emerging technology sector and the practical knowledge of future technology professionals in schools across Nigeria.

    “These new technologies are shaking up the roles of educators, creating philosophical shift in approaches to teaching and remodelling the classrooms as well as equipping students with 21st century tech skills needed in today’s workforce.”

  • Climate change challenges: Osinbajo tasks Nigerian techies

    The development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate technologies remain the best solution to climate change challenges, the Acting President , Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

    The Office of the Vice-President said Osinbajo made the statement on Friday at the inauguration of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) situated at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Lagos Business School.

    Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President, made Osinbajo’s view known in a statement on Saturday.

    The Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre is a public-private partnership involving the Federal Government, the World Bank Group and the Pan-Atlantic University.

    The Centre provides holistic, country-driven support to accelerate the development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate and clean energy technologies.

    Osinbajo said the task of advancing climate action was crucial, especially for Nigeria, in the view of the challenge of climate change and the need for the adoption of an innovative approach.

    “The pressure for livelihoods and food for a huge population will put tremendous pressure on natural resources and the implications for climate change will be dire indeed.

    “The creation of an enabling environment for climate-smart businesses to thrive is simply the only way to go,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said he had visited several start-ups, technology hubs and innovation spaces around the country and seen innovativeness, creativity and drive of Nigerians.

    He said Nigerians were “constantly developing and deploying solutions in many sectors’’, including “agriculture, health, transport, security, climate action and many more locally relevant climate technologies’’.

    According to him, one of the key sectors where there is potential for high impact interventions by green technologies is the off-grid solar sector.

    Osinbajo said the Solar Home Project and Energising Economies Initiative were some of the private-sector-driven efforts targeted at providing off-grid power to homes, markets and economic clusters across the country.

    He said that so far, 13,000 shops at Sabon-Gari Market in Kano were currently being powered through high-capacity stand-alone solar systems.

    He said more were expected to come on stream soon at the Ariaria Market in Aba, Sura Market in Lagos, and other markets in Oyo, Edo and Ondo states.

    The acting president challenged the new climate Centre to develop and deploy technology and expertise required to deliver clean energy in areas prone to oil pollution and other related hazards.

    According to him, the innovation Centre must seek to develop the technology and expertise required to deal with the oil spill challenge in the Niger Delta region.

    He said the Federal Government was investing considerably in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to help overcome challenges and risks brought about by the use of kerosene and firewood in homes.

    Osinbajo tasked the NCIC team to come up with innovation in smart cooking equipment that could utilise LPG in the most efficient manner.

    The acting president urged stakeholders in the off-grid power sector to take advantage of the Green bond issued by the Federal Government and the opportunities provided at the newly inaugurated climate Centre to fund their projects.

    “It provides a platform to attracting or unlocking venture financing and private equity funds for climate-smart businesses and Nigerians providing climate-smart solutions,’’ Osinbajo said.