The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Court clears lawyer, others of kidnap, robbery allegations

    Court clears lawyer, others of kidnap, robbery allegations

    Ogun State Magistrate’s Court has cleared a lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, of the kidnap, fraud and robbery allegations levelled against him and others by the police in the state.

    Chief Magistrate A.S. Soneye upheld the state Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) report, which found no evidence Oshiyemi and his co-defendants – Adebowale Ogunlaja, Sadiq Owolabi and Abolaji Alaba – committed a crime.

    The court noted that the Attorney-General’s Office had perused the case file sent by the police and “concluded there was no basis to charge the respondents with criminal offence as they do not have a case to answer.”

    An Ijebu-Ode resident, Shakirudeen Olufowobi, had through his lawyer, Yomi Nuberu, petitioned the commissioner of Police on June 26, 2018, accusing Oshiyemi and others of obtaining money under false pretence, and attempting to kidnap and kill.

    The police arrested, detained and paraded the lawyer and others.

    On July 2, 2018, they were arraigned on charges of “conspiracy to commit robbery, unlawful attempt to kidnap and conspiracy to defraud”.

    The defendants denied the allegations, saying they never constituted a threat to Olufowobi.

    The  court released Oshiyemi on self-recognition and granted the others bail.

    It directed the police to send the case file to the DPP’s office for advice.             

    Oshiyemi challenged the alleged ill-treatment meted out to him by the police in court.

    He said he was only a lawyer to his co-defendants in another case instituted by Olufowobi.

    The lawyer explained he telephoned Olufowobi once “in an attempt to resolve the case pending in court amicably.”

    The court upheld his case and awarded N10 million damages in Oshiyemi’s favour.

    The DPP’s report, signed by Assistant Chief State in Counsel, Mrs. Abimbola Akinsaya, also exonerated Oshiyemi and his co-defendants.

    The legal advice dated December 21, 2018 and addressed to the commissioner of Police said the case file was not strong enough to recommend a charge.

    But despite not finding evidence against the suspects, Akinsaya’s report recommended “binding over proceedings” against the defendants.

    The binding over proceedings were aimed at obtaining an order of the  court to compel the suspects to produce sureties as a guarantee of their peaceful conduct in the Imagbon area of Ijebu-Ode for one year.

    The defendants opposed the application.

    On August 27, 2018, Chief Magistrate Soneye dismissed the prosecution’s application for binding over.

    The court held: “The motion on notice for binding over against the first to fourth respondents, having been found by this court to lack merit, shallow, empty and bereft of substance to sustain the same, this application is hereby dismissed.”

    Editor’s Note: The Nation edition of July 2, 2018, on page 5, published a story with the headline: ‘Lawyer, six others arrested for N250m fraud ‘plot’ from a press release issued by Office of the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ogun State Command.

    The paper  regrets any embarrassment the story may have caused Kayode Oshiyemi.

  • ‘Igbo not victimised in our community’

    ‘Igbo not victimised in our community’

    The Baale of Ije Ododo, island community in Iba Local Council Development Area in Ojo, Lagos State, Chief Jelili Ododo, has distanced himself from a viral video alleging he ordered thugs to destroy property belonging to Igbo residents in the community for not voting All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ododo stressed his cordial relationship with non-indigenes in the community, and urged his people to continue as such. “I do not practice tribalism or ethnicity,’ he added.

    Leader of the Igbo community in Ije Ododo, Chief Nwokede, condermed the false allegations, saying Ododo and the community never intimidated or victimised anyone in the land, let alone brutalising any tribe who does not work for any political party, especially in the election.

    Nwokede urged the Igbo community to abstain from tarnishing their hosts ‘because he acommodated everyone by selling his land for them to build house and progress in their individual businesses. The love and peaceful co-existence among us can only bring prosperity to the land”, he added.

    Ododo explained there had been road construction in the community in the last four weeks, and so the breaking of extensions on the road to give way to proper drainage channels in preparation for the rainy season.

    He maintained there was an announcement before the work started, with a notice to the police station that extensions on the roads be removed. But some people refused to comply with the instruction.

  • Firm, Lagos empower 4,000 SMEs, youths

    Firm, Lagos empower 4,000 SMEs, youths

    To mark its fifth anniversary, capacity development firm, Midramo Consulting, has launched its fifth Growth, Empowerment, Accelerate and Recognition (GEAR) programme to empower 2,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    An arm of the organisation, Midramo Empowerment Foundation, will lead the programme in partnership with Lagos State and private sectors.

    Executive Director of Services, Mrs Salamatu Odewunmi, said: “We see the youth as our partner in achieving our vision of a preferred global partner in development of human capital.”

    She added the programme was the organisation’s way of empowering more SMEs and youths through technical and soft skills training in hospitality, information, communication technology, and construction.

    Odewunmi said the firm impacted over 100 SMEs and 500 youths with leadership, financial literacy, planning and organising, goal setting, healthy and safe work habits, business plan writing, marketing techniques, and digital marketing.

    She said its sustainability plans contributed to success of its programmes, earning it a 2022 nomination in Top 100 Fastest-Growing SMEs Awards in Nigeria by BusinessDay.

    “The success of Midramo’s programmes is due to the support of its partners, including United States for African Development Foundation, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI) and Skills for Prosperity Nigeria (S4P-N).

    “Interested SMEs and youths can register through our social media handles,” she said.

  • Wakanow Group gets new leadership

    Wakanow Group gets new leadership

    Travel and destination management firm Wakanow Group has named Mr. Adebayo Adedeji as its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Adenike Macaulay, the Chief Executive Officer, Wakanow Nigeria and Mr. Bayode Olubayode the Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO).

    According to a statement by the Group,  Macaulay will lead the firm in the country.

    Adedeji said: “We are expanding into new verticals and countries in Africa and beyond to take advantage of new business opportunities in the emerging competitive landscape leveraging our deep understanding of the African customer and expertise in the travel tech industry, and I will be leading this venture as Group CEO.

    “The synergy I have built with Adenike over the last 18 months makes me super confident to take on this new challenge knowing that our core business will continually grow geometrically in her hands.”

    Mrs Macaulay stated: “I am delighted to receive the leadership torch of Wakanow Nigeria from Bayo and also excited to take on the new responsibility saddled upon me by the board and management of Wakanow and look forward to leading and building with an immensely talented team.”

    Also, the company has positioned its subsidiaries to open new frontiers, innovating for a more satisfactory customer travel experience, delivering technologically powered solutions for things as basic as buying flight tickets to booking hotels and rides.

    The statement added: “Another precursor to the structural changes is the commencement of operations in UAE, US, Sierra Leone and Gambia, which kickstarts Wakanow’s drive to connect all of Africa and Africans beginning in West Africa.

    “Plans are already in place to launch in the UK, Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire.’’

    Olubayode transitions into the new role with over a decade’s experience in finance. He gained much of his experience in the commercial banking sector, where he supervised various control functions in the fields of financial control, treasury and international operations.  He brings a wealth of financial and management expertise to his role as Group CFO.

    Adedeji said: “Bayode assumes this new role with a track record of stellar performances at the helm of the finance function at Wakanow. We are confident that his knowledge, experience and expertise will be vital in Wakanow’s tilt towards global dominance in the travel industry. As Group CFO, Bayode will further consolidate on the successes achieved while charting new milestones for Wakanow and its subsidiaries as he oversees our financial operations at the group level.”

    Bayode replied: “I appreciate the Board and Management of Wakanow for the continued trust and confidence reposed in me and would like to seize this opportunity to restate my commitment to the Wakanow vision and drive for global excellence in the travel industry.

    “Wakanow has been powered by a dedication to global best practice in its financial operations and this is a culture we would continue to uphold with a world-class team, which remains focused on excellence in line with our global ambitions.”

  • Taming insecurity at airports

    Taming insecurity at airports

    Global efforts at taming insecurity are forcing countries and their airport authorities to step up training, technology and exchange of intelligence information. Many authorities, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), are taking steps to handle such threats. KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports

    AIRPORT authorities are driving safety in and around aerodromes. Reason: They believe safety is the greatest asset in the industry.

    To drive this agenda, countries are investing in human capacity development.

    In the last few years, experts are harping on the need for the government to block the gaps in manpower requirements in the safety space.

    Recent developments in the industry appear to be yielding the expected outcomes.

    To improve security, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the weekend graduated 381 cadets and instructors at Digital Bridge Institute, Kano.

    The security cadets completed the 13 weeks of training on the STP 123 Basic course in line with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and National Civil Aviation Security Training Programme (NCASTP).

    Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika said the cadets are a pride to the nation, reassuring that the Federal Government has taken the right step.

    Sirika, who was represented by the Director of Safety and Technical Policy, Captain Talba Alkali, said: “This level of commitment is evident before us in the successful completion of this training.. My profound gratitude goes also to the Management and staff of the Digital Bridge Institute, Kano for providing an enabling environment with state-of-the-art training facility which has accommodated the 381 cadets and instructors  in the last three months.”

    The Minister advised the graduands: “This should come to you as a clarion call to work within the precepts of the training. This training that you have received is expected to commit you to the level of dedication that is expected in ensuring that the nation of Nigeria will not only be proud but also reap the benefits of this well-organised training.

    “In acceptance to be trained as an aviation security cadet, you must realise that it is a privilege to serve your country at this level as the Aviation industry is one place where adherence and commitment to rules and standards are applied strictly to the letter.”

    Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FAAN, Capt Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu said: “At a time of national security challenges, finding expression in myriad problems and threats such as terrorism, banditry, insurgency, kidnapping etc, the Aviation security STP 123 Training programme could not have come at a better time.”

    Capt Yadudu insisted that the programme would expose the graduates to modern ways of managing and reducing threats.

    Advising the new cadets, he said: “I also implore you not to rest on your oars. Rather you should begin to apply all that you have learnt during this training in the course of your duties at your stations. With commitment, focus and patriotic zeal, we will definitely reshape the course of aviation security and safety at our respective airports hence, taking it to greater heights.”

    The AVSEC Commander, Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano, Mr Tanimu Danjuma Obashe, said they were trained by the institute, the Nigerian Immigration Training School, Kano and instructors from FAAN AVSEC.

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  • When NRC returns to unbundling table

    When NRC returns to unbundling table

    The Federal Government has reverted to the unfinished business of unbundling the Nigerian Railway Corporation, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    Should Mr Mu’azu Jaji Sambo succeed in unbundling Nigeria’s longest living corporation – the Nigerian Railway Corporation – which is in its 125th year, before the curtain falls on the Muhammadu Buhari administration on May 29, 2023, it would be his greatest legacy as the Minister of Transportation.

    A man with his eyes on history, like Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor, Sambo, who moved to the Federal Ministry of Transportation  last September, after a cabinet shuffle, had continued to grapple with straws.

    His best yet was that as Minister, he received the last batch of the abducted passengers of the ill-fated AK-09 Abuja-Kaduna train.

    Sambo, whose efforts to see life back on some of the ongoing sites such as the Ibadan-Minna, or the Eastern Narrow Gauge where rehabilitation had been in abeyance after the groundbreaking efforts by Amaechi in December 2020 had failed, said last week that the unbundling of the corporation, remain key to its turnaround.

    The dream to get the corporation broken into smaller units had dithered for about five years in the least.

    In July 2018, Amaechi had broached the idea at Apapa Ports, to ensure the Railway eventually gets to Apapa and ease logistics in line with the 25-year Master Plan of the NRC, which the Buhari administration inherited and had faithfully kept aflame.

    “We are looking at the possibility of breaking the Railway corporation into at least three business units. The first would own all railway assets, including tracks and equipment, the second to operate and run the passengers and the third to handle marketing of Railway logistics.

    “I have put a team on ground to do a study of that, but I think we need to unlock what we have because they, no doubt, appears to be overwhelmed,” Amaechi had enthused.

    The team he set up had recommended that the NRC be unbundled into four business component, implementation was, however, suspended to enable the government deliver on Nigeria’s third standard gauge rail network – Lagos-Ibadan train – which was then top priority.

    The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemi Saraki, had revisited the unbundling in November 2021 and kick-started a process for the actualisation of the dream which, she noted, would help unlock the potential and boost the revenue of of the railway.

    At a meeting with French investors in Paris that year, Saraki said the NRC would be broken into four subsidiaries: Regulatory, Infrastructure (network creation, upgrade and maintenance) Operations and Services (the rolling stock operations, rolling stock creation and procurement and rolling stock maintenance).

    She said the unbundling was a demonstration of Federal Government’s renewed commitments to the railways as a key component for the country’s socio-economic transformation.

    “Of note is the 25-year strategic plan targeted at the rehabilitation of the narrow gauge rail lines, construction of new standard gauge lines and connection to  seaports.

    “There are also connections to state capitals, mining and agricultural clusters and technological hubs by rail, as well as their operation and maintenance in the country.

    Undoubtedly, the Buhari administration demonstrated uncommon tenacity in its commitment to railway transformation and modernisation. Not only did it achieve uncommon strides in the rehabilitation of the old narrow gauge, thereby ensuring that the old rolling stocks are reintroduced to provide Mass train transit service across its two main trunks, it also recorded remarkable achievements in its eight years, with the inauguration of all three networks – the Abuja-Kaduna, Warri–Itakpe and the Lagos-Ibadan rail lines. It also secured the siting of a railway wagon assembly plant in Ogun State.

    While the three lines generated some revenue until the dastard acts of terrorists on the Abuja-Kaduna and the Itakpe-Warri corridors, the wagon assembly plant may be activated before the end of Buhari’s tenure.

    Saraki said Nigeria’s rail projects have the capacity to generate a freight growth of a 7.9 per cent from 2021 to 2025.

    The NRC accrued N2.12 billion revenue (approximately euro 4.664 million) in the first half of 2021, an increase of 31 per cent over the same period in 2019. At the same time, revenue from freight transport was down, with gains coming mainly from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge.

    But these gains suffered a reversal last year, as  result of the terrorists attack on the Kaduna bound train and the proclivity of the abductors using their victims as blackmail items to demand for ransom.

    The beginning

    According to the Wikipedia, the history of railway in  Nigeria could be traced to 1898, when the first railroad was constructed by the British colonial government in Lagos.

    On October 3, 1912, the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway were amalgamated to begin the national rail service under the name Government Department of Railways (GDR).

    With the passing of the NRC Act of 1955, the company changed its name from GDR, to NRC and gained the exclusive legal right to construct and operate rail service in Nigeria.This makes it impossible for other stakeholders other than the Federal Government to play in the subsector.

    The golden era of the Railway was shortly  in 1964. Thereafter, the NRC entered a long period of decline, brought upon it by inept management, which swept it into sharp decline. An era of lack of maintenance of rail and locomotive assets soon followed, which was sealed by bankruptcy in 1988, and rail traffic stopped for six months.

    In the mid-1990s, train service resumed albeit skeletally, where the tracks were usable, but by 2002, passenger service was discontinued altogether.

    At the turn of the fourth republic, the Federal Government put together a long term Masterplan with 25 years gestation period and implementation of the first phase started in 2006, with track rehabilitation and restoration with plans to add new locomotives with once work finished on the rehabilitation of the two major corridors. In December 2012 regular, scheduled passenger service was restored on the Lagos to Kano line.

    The Olusegun Obasanjo administration went ahead to sign the contract for the development of Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail project, with the first Lot, Abuja-Kaduna taking off in 2005. That project, to which his successor, President Goodluck Jonathan was wholly committed was however not delivered until 2016, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The old/new dream

    Though stakeholders readily admit that the terrorists attacks of March 28, 2022, had summarily put paid to the unbundling agenda of the Federal Government, which ought to have commenced by Q1 last year, they were happy that the new Minister of Transportation has revisited the agenda and is committed to achieving it.

    This time, the Ministry said it is open to working with other inter-ministerial agencies, the lead agency being the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), a Ministry of Finance’s special purpose vehicle (SPV), incorporated since 1958 which hold in trust all Federal Government’s assets, liabilities, treaties and properties.

    At a meeting with the top management of this agency last week, Sambo expressed the eagerness to ensure the unbundling of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in line with the vision and objectives of Government’s transportation sector reforms.

    Like his predecessors, Sambo opined that unbundling have become imperative as Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) as presently constituted is not operating optimally. 

    He told the MOFI CEO Dr Armstrong Katang that the ministry would give all the necessary backing to ensuring its success in the task which according to him has been simplified by the works done on the scope of the proposed exercise. “Our charge is that we want more functional units that would continue to offer world class and cutting edge services to Nigerians.

    “One of the things I will like to see as the Minister of Transportation, through MOFI is the unbundling of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).  There is a Committee set up to unbundle NRC and I will urge you to work with the existing Committee,” he said.

    The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) was incorporated under the provisions of Sections 2 and 3 of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Act of 1959 as an asset holding company under the Federal Ministry of Finance.  MOFI is the sole manager of all Federal Government investment interests, estates, easement and rights.

    The Minister made reference to the reforms implemented in the ports and the benefits these have brought, noting that such should be replicated in the railway sector.

    “The state that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), is today, is the way the ports were prior to its concession, prior to the Ports reforms of 2005.  Today, even the Nigeria Ports authority (NPA) workers are happier about how NPA is today compared to how it was prior to the reforms.  This means the reformed NPA is generating more revenue to support its operations and also support its workforce and its pensioners”.

    Fear of Job loss

    Expectedly, the proposed project is already causing some jitters among the NRC workforce many of who are already agitating that the government aim at cutting down on jobs.

    Joseph Abdullahi, an NRC staff said there has been palpable fear among workers since the Minister brought up the issue of unbundling.

    Abdullahi said though his view does not in any way reflect the position of the workers union as he is not an official of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NURW), the fear that it might lead to job loss is palpable.

    The minister had had cause to assuage such fears saying, it would rather lead to a better welfare deal if the Corporation is repositioned.

    “I don’t want the NRC staff to see the unbundling as a threat to their jobs.  If we have a better performing NRC, then we are going to have better salaries, better working conditions for its workers, more revenue for the FG and therefore the ability to even build more rail networks” the Minister said.

    Sambo pointed out that the issue of encroachment on railway property will soon be a thing of the past as “MOFI was berthed by the Federal Government to take control of its assets and create optimum value for them.”

    The Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, extolled the capabilities of the Managing Director, MOFI, Dr. Katang, saying he has full confidence that the MOFI team will deliver and reposition the NRC.

    The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani has assured the MOFI team of the cooperation of the Ministry in their assignment to unbundle.

    The Chief Executive Officer, MOFI, Dr. Armstrong Katang, stated that the visit was to discuss how to create a more effective and efficient partnership between MOFI and the Ministry of Transportation.

    Katang said the areas that have been identified for collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation included enumerating and valuing the Nigerian Railway Corporation to ensure that its value is captured in line with the current realities.

    According to him, other areas included enumerating and capturing other critical assets in the Ministry especially its infrastructure assets and establishing a task force with representation from the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Finance, with clear terms of reference  to untangle the burdened Corporation.

  • Honing artisans’ skills

    Honing artisans’ skills

    Artisans’ training is a priority for many state governments. Lagos has been amplifying it with a burst of energy over the last few years. So far, no fewer than 5000 tradesmen and artisans have been retrained to address skill shortage and high youth unemployment. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Increased industrial activities have resulted in increased demand for qualified artisans and tradesmen. Consequently, governments at various levels are driving initiatives to build frameworks to develop a new class of artisans with skills needed to work in the areas where demand is particularly high.

    In line with this, vocational education and training in the skilled trades has been elevated as a key factor in long-term development in Lagos. Artisan training is being restructured to meet changing market needs. Many innovations have emerged as well as new training models.

    To this end, the state Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment and the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Educational Board (LASTVEB), under the Capability Building initiative of the Lagos State Tradesmen and Artisans Empowerment Programme(LASTAEP), are driving  fundamental rethink of the skills development with the objective of achieving a common standard across sectors for artisan development.

    Against this background, the state Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said the government is determined to provide opportunities for artisans.

    He said the government was pursuing a reskilling programme to unveil future artisans.

    He noted that the informal sector is an integral part of the economy, contributing more than 72 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    For the economy to grow, he stressed that the quality of artisan training would require further enhancements.

    His words: “We have provided three hectares of land at Ganyinbo Private Development  Scheme in Badagry for LASOTA ‘s secretariat.”

    Underlining the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in development, he said supporting tradesmen and craftsmen during the currency swap was critical and the government.

    The Deputy Governor acknowledged that the potential of the sector such as creativity, entrepreneurship development, wealth creation, value addition and employment generation are too important to be ignored by any government, hence the administration would continue to create platforms for artisans to thrive by focusing on the development of complementary infrastructure to improve competitiveness and productivity.

    An element of the training programmes, according to the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, is to ensure that artisans with a solid technical foundation are given a toolkit to prepare them for their businesses. She announced that the industrial leather hub under construction at Matori, Mushin would be inaugurated this year.

    Mrs. Arobieke said the training of 1,700 tradesmen and artisans this year was a  demonstration of the government’s commitment to the empowerment of residents.

    According to her, the upskilling programme was developed to equip the members of the informal sector towards becoming 21st century artisans and tradesmen in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda.

    The programme, according to her, broadened the scope of the participants as it was designed to impact positively on their skill set. She admonished the trainees to put it to good use and to train others.

    Executive Secretary,LASTVEB, Ms Ronke Azeez reiterated that the state government was engaged in enhancing the artisan training system to be responsive and demand-led.

    She said tradesmen and artisans stand a better chance after completing an eight-week intensive training and re-skilling programme.

    She said the objective of the government was to have competent artisans who could handle tasks that would be of world standards.

    The Head, Entrepreneurship Department, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Taiwo Abiose, expressed delight with the quality of the training,adding that it has provided the beneficiaries with livelihood skills.

    The best graduating trademan at the Ikorodu Centre and member Lagos State Central Sand & Granite Suppliers Association, Mr Adegboyega Adele, thanked the government for the gesture.

  • ChatGPT’s red flags

    ChatGPT’s red flags

    Technology has never ceased to evolve. One of the latest is ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) programme developed by a company called OpenAI. Since its introduction, its users are expected to have surpassed 100million last month, a feat it took TikTok nine months and Instagram two and a half years to achieve. Despite its many advantages, an expert says care needs to be taken. LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    SOCIAL engineering, scamming and impersonation and other dangers have been identified as some of the dangers lurking behind the ChatGPT technology.

    ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology that allows the user to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions, and assist with tasks such as composing emails, essays, and code. Usage is currently open to the public free of charge because ChatGPT is in its research and feedback-collection phase. Launched November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an AI and research company.

    In an email report at the weekend, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, Anna Collard, said it is possible to use a publicly available artificial chatbot to generate a complete infection chain, possibly beginning with a spear phishing email written in entirely convincing, human-like language and eventually causing a complete takeover of a company’s computer systems.

    According to Ana, researchers at Checkpoint recently created such a plausible phishing email as a test. They only used ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses deep learning techniques to generate text and conversations that can convince basically anyone that it was written by a real person.

    In reality, she said there are many potential cybersecurity dangers wrapped up in this impressive technology developed by OpenAI and currently available online for free.

    One of the dangers is social engineering. According to Anna, ChatGPT’s powerful language model can be used to generate realistic and convincing phishing messages, making it easier for attackers to trick victims into providing sensitive information or downloading malware.

    Another one is scamming, in which the generation of text through ChatGPT’s language models allows attackers to create fake ads, listings and many other forms of scamming material.

    On impersonation, ChatGPT can be used to create a convincing digital copy of an individual’s writing style, allowing attackers to impersonate their target in a text-based setting, such as in an email or text message.

    For automation of attacks, ChatGPT can also be used to automate the creation of malicious messages and phishing emails making it possible for attackers to launch large-scale attacks more efficiently while on spamming, she explained that the language model could be fine-tuned to produce large amounts of low-quality content, which can be used in a variety of contexts, including as spam comments on social media or in spam email campaigns.

    “All five points above are legit threats to companies and all internet users that will only become more prevalent as OpenAI continues to train its model. If the list managed to convince you, the technology succeeded in its purpose, although in this instance not with malicious intent.

    “All the text from points one to five was actually written by ChatGPT with minimal tweaks for clarity. The tool is so powerful it can convincingly identify and word its own inherent dangers to cybersecurity,” the note noted.

    However, Anna wrote, there are mitigating steps individuals and companies can take, including new-school security awareness training.

    “Cybercrime is moving at light speed. A few years ago, cybercriminals used to specialise in identity theft, but now they take over your organisation’s network, hack into your bank accounts, and steal tens or hundreds of thousands of rands.

    “An intelligent platform like ChatGPT may have been created with the best intentions, but it only adds to the burden on internet users to always stay vigilant, trust their instincts and always know the risks involved in clicking on any link or opening an attachment,” she said.

    According to Entrepreneur, an online platform, in 2015, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever and Wojciech Zaremba founded OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organization. OpenAI has other programs, but ChatGPT was introduced in 2018.

    ChatGPT is based on GPT-3, the third model of the natural language processing project. The technology is a pre-trained, large-scale language model that uses GPT-3 architecture to sift through an immense pool of internet data and sources to reference as its knowledge base.

    This AI is a well of knowledge, but its ability to communicate is what sets it apart from other technology.

    It has been fine-tuned for several language generation tasks, including language translation, summarisation, text completion, question-answering and even human diction.

    ChatGPT is a transformer-based neural network that provides answers and data with human writing patterns. The AI has been programmed with endless amounts of text data to understand context, relevancy and how to generate human-like responses to questions.

    Other ChatGPT facts

    ChatGPT is large-scale. It has over 175 billion parameters, making it one of the largest language models ever.

    ChatGPT is pre-trained. The program has a “set it and forget it” quality, meaning the legwork to make it function has already happened.

    ChatGPT is capable of multitasking. The program has more than one language function, so it can simultaneously juggle translation, summarization and answering questions.

    ChatGPT responds in real time. Like a chatbot you’d find while online shopping, ChatGPT responds very quickly after you ask it a question or complete a task.

    Terminologies

    When it comes to high-level AI, there are several terms used to explain how the technology works that need explaining themselves.

    Key terms of ChatGPT include:  Artificial intelligence: AI is a sector of computer science that focuses on building systems that can perform tasks as humans do. Typical forms of AI include speech recognition, language translation and visual perception.

    Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a subsection of AI dedicated to the interaction between humans and computers using language. Through algorithms and models, NLP can analyze, comprehend and use language with human diction.

    Neural network: A neural network is a machine learning algorithm that functions like a human brain. Just as the brain has pathways where information is stored and functions are carried out, AI uses neural networks to mimic that process to problem-solve, learn patterns and collect data.

    Transformer: A transformer is a structure within the neural network meant for NLP tasks that use mechanisms to analyze input and generate output.

    GPT: A generative pre-trained transformer is a transformer-based language developed by OpenAI, which is who gave it the name. This is the first version of the language processor and generator part of the program that is unique to OpenAI, as it can generate text in a human-like way.

    GPT-3: This stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, based on the Transformer network architecture developed by OpenAI. It is the most dynamic version of GPT to date, as it has self-attention layers that allow the program to multitask, adjust in real time and generate a more authentic output.

    Pre-training: This is just what it sounds like – it’s the work OpenAI had to do to train the neural network to work how it wanted it to before it was ready for public consumption.

    Fine-tuning: This part of training comes after pre-training. The program takes one task and trains it even further on a smaller, more specific task on more particular data. This is why ChatGPT can work so thoroughly.

    API: An application programming interface is how the program remains uniform. It is a routine and guide for how each application is built. This allows new additions to the system to be integrated successfully.

    How it works

    ChatGPT uses a vast neural network to produce the human-like language through which it communicates. But how does that process happen? This is a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

    Input processing: The human user types commands or questions into ChatGPT’s text bar.

    Tokenization: The text inputted is tokenized, meaning the program divides it into individual words to be analyzed.

    Input embedding: The tokenized text is put into the neural network’s transformer portion.

    Encoder-decoder attention: The transformer encodes the text input and generates a probability distribution for all possible outputs. Then that distribution generates the output.

    Text generation and output: ChatGPT generates its output answer, and the human user receives a text response.

    ChatGPT’s capabilities

    ChatGPT has extensive capabilities that will likely change the landscape of many industries.

    The artificial intelligence program can complete tasks such as Text generation, Text completion, Question-answering, Summarization, Text translation, Conversational AI, Sentiment analysis, Named entity recognition and Part-of-speech tagging.

    Text generation

    ChatGPT is nothing without its text generation, as that is how it communicates with its human users. The program uses its pre-trained database to intake inputs and prompts and generates the appropriate response in a natural, human-like text structure.

    Text completion

    If you’ve ever wished to have a friend or a sibling that could finish your sentences, ChatGPT might just be the way to go.

    ChatGPT can finish your inputted sentence based on content and meaning if you supply the beginning. It might not always be the ending you wanted, but the capability is there.

    For example, if you typed a command asking to finish the sentence, “The rainbow is….” You might be thinking, “The rainbow is beautiful.” But ChatGPT might respond, “Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.” This is because it pulls from its pre-trained knowledge to find the answer. It might not be able to read your mind, but it can read its data.

    Question-answering

    ChatGPT can answer every question that is part of its pre-trained knowledge. This will include world knowledge and general facts.

    The program can also answer questions in the format that you like. So based on your preference, you can command ChatGPT to answer in bullet points, a list or short answers.

    Summarization

    If you input a long text into ChatGPT and command it to summarize the information, it will do so. You should not expect ChatGPT to summarize full-length novels, but a few pages of text is possible as it can handle up to 4095 tokens.

    Text translation

    Just like Google Translate, ChatGPT can translate from one language to another, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic.

    The program uses its neural networks to form syntax and structures like when outputting English. And much like Google Translate, it is not a perfect science. While the AI is incredibly advanced, it may miss some grammar, semantics and other details of foreign languages.

    Conversational AI

    One of ChatGPT’s biggest highlights is that it can respond in human-like, conversational language

    This is a helpful way to receive and digest the output. It can also be useful for companies with ecommerce sites that want to integrate conversational interfaces for chatbots, virtual assistants and other applications.

  • Airtel, itel partner on 4G smartphone

    Airtel, itel partner on 4G smartphone

    Airtel Nigeria has partnered itel to launch the latest affordable 4G smartphone, itel A60 smartphone.

    With the release of the itel A60, customers will have access to 4G smartphones at an affordable price, while enjoying the advantage of a reliable and quick internet connection.

    Director, Corporate Communications and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Adefemi Adeniran said: “At Airtel Nigeria, we are driven by the global sustainability and business agenda of Airtel to increase digital inclusion across Nigeria and the African continent, and we believe that this partnership will help in accelerating this goal as it is focused on migrating customers on 2G and 3G to 4G.”

    Marketing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Ismail Adeshina, also said: “We believe in enriching the experience of our customers, and we are aware that affordability is a major challenge when it comes to enjoying a 4G service. Therefore, this partnership allows us to offer our customers the opportunity to enjoy 4G experience at a pocket friendly price.

    “The itel A60 is specially packaged with a 5GB data which is accessible once you purchase and activate your phone with an Airtel 4G SIM.”

    Marketing Manager, itel West Africa, Oke Umurhohwo, also said: “In line with the 4G for Everyone tagline, the itel A60 will bring a different dimension to how the brand’s target users surf the internet and engender an overall amazing experience for customers.”

    The entry-level Itel A60 has a number of unique features that set it apart from other phones in this category and provide the user with a unique experience while providing value. The device offers a 5000mAh battery for longer uptime, 6.6″HD+ Waterdrop FullScreen for an immersive display experience, 32+2GB memory, 8MP+QVGA Rear Camera + 5MP FF Camera+AI Selfie as well as Facial Recognition and Fingerprint protection.

  • Cash crunch: Weak infrastructure takes toll on digital transactions

    Cash crunch: Weak infrastructure takes toll on digital transactions

    Weak digital infrastructure have continued to blight electronic transactions in the country as bank customers, compelled to embrace the digital platform as a result of the cash crunch caused by the naira redesign and withdrawal limit policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continue to experience nightmares.

    Customers who wanted to buy essential goods such as foodstuffs, groceries and others and small business (SMB) owners that wanted to restock their shops were frustrated.

    An SMB owner, Esther Ade, who sells plastic buckets, plates, gift items and others in Ayobo, a Lagos suburb, said she went through hell when she went to Oju Ore area of Ogun State to restock her shop.

    “After filling the forms and the goods brought out from the warehouse, my total bill was N545,000. After several efforts to use my Wema Bank app to transfer the cash to the account of the dealer, I left the goods and my bus at the front of her shop and started looking for an ATM to do the transfer. The only available ATM at GB Plaza nearly swallowed my card. I was directed to the busy roundabout where I was again directed to an expressway to Joju. After walking several kilometres, tired and thirsty, I remembered I still had N1,000 in my bag. I quickly went back and picked the cash which I used to transport myself to Joju where there were so many banks. I was relieved that after several trials, I succeeded in transferring the cash to my customer,” she said.

    If Esther was lucky, Balkis Amusat was not. After several trials, she was frustrated out of the market. The dealer popularly called Fagboye, said she could not trust Balkis to go away with the goods valued at N350,000 because she didn’t receive any transaction alert from her. “I have sold goods valued at over N1million this morning based on personal self-recognition. My customers transfer cash but after waiting for two hours to receive an alert which hardly comes, I let them go because I know them.

     But Balkis is not my regular customer. I don’t see her as often as I see the others, so I will not let her go with my goods,” she said.

    An electrical and electronics engineer and Chief Executive Officer, SO4 Engineering Services, Olusoji Olwasuyi, recalled his ugly experience at a shopping mall. Faced with imminent threat of starvation as a result of lack of cash to buy food stuffs and other necessities, he had to trek to Command from Abesan Estate, in the outskirts of the state, to a popular mall called Grocery Bazaar at Unity Bus Stop. After picking items such as packs of semovita, wheat, rice, vegetable oil and toiletries, he was lucky that the network of the PoS enabled his transaction.

    Since he had to trek to the mall in the first place because he had no cash, he appealed to the cashier to give him only N1000 so he could use that as transport fare. The cashier said there was none.

    “I had to trek back home with my load on my head. Climbing the hill on my way back was hell. I have money in my account which this government has confiscated under the pretext of currency swap. I don’t understand this type of policy. This situation is unimaginable because if somebody had told me that one day, I will have cash in my account and I will be starving, I will say never. What kind of compassionate government is this? I am completely fed up,” he said.

    Another owner of a provision shop in the neighbourhood, Madam Bona, lamented that the development has denied her access to cash to buy her prescription drugs. A widow and mother of four with two other dependents, she said the policy has denied her access to basic things such as good food and others.

    “Over the past two weeks, getting cash to run my life has remained an illusion. My customers no longer pay me in cash but through transfer. I have lost about N200,000 during this period to transactions that were not completed but which showed were completed on the side of the customers. People advise that I go to the bank and complain, I am managing myself, I don’t have the energy to go and queue up at the banks. I have two grand kids with me that must enter public transport to school every day.  Are they going to stay at home because they don’t have money to pay the drivers? What kind of policy is this? In states run by dictators, people’s cash is not brazenly seized,” she said.

    The CBN had at the close of last month, started what it said was cash swap and had last year set “the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations at N500,000 and N5million” in cash notes.