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Tag: Etisalat

  • Etisalat helps pupils choose careers

    Etisalat helps pupils choose careers

    It was an excited group of over 500 secondary school pupils that participated in a career counselling programme sponsored by telecoms company, Etisalat for schools in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos.

    Pupils from nine secondary schools including Government College, Agege, Girls Junior High School, Agege; and Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Agege; Sango Senior Secondary School, Agege; Yewa Junior High School, Agege; Keke Senior High School, Agege and Stadium Junior Grammar School, Agege, heard from experts what they need to do to prepare for successful careers in future.

    The experts, employees of Etisalat, and the Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network (LEARN), an NGO founded by Mrs. Abimbola Fashola addressed the pupils on academic requirement and soft skills and competencies that will help them get ahead in their fields.

    Head, Learning and Development, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Chike Otubelu, said the initiative gave members of Etisalat staff opportunity to mentor and counsel the pupils, one of the company’s core values.

    “We are aware that our success is a product of the society in which we live and do business in, that is why we are committed to contributing to development at all levels of society. At the Career Counselling programme, our staff volunteer time and employ skills to provide career counselling and mentorship to those with the most critical need for such guidance – students of secondary schools. We are aware that students need appropriate direction towards making compatible and fulfilling career choices, because a wrong career move may have some negative long-term effects.” He said.

    Senior Project Officer, Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network, Mrs. Tonne Saheed, said the NGO shares the empowerment objective that Etisalat set out to achieve through the initiative.

    She underscored the importance of preparing the pupils for the future roles they will play in the world of work.

    “Building a career is as complex as building a house. As such, these students need to be educated and counselled on how to go about making positive life career choices for their future. This partnership with Etisalat Nigeria is coming at a time when Nigerian teenagers need to see that there is hope for a brighter future,” she said.

    Guidance Counselor at Diary Farm Senior Secondary School, said the event would allow the pupils not to be pressured into choosing careers they do not want.

    “By the time we catch them young and give them the motivation they need, they will be able to make the right choice. Some parents will want them to take after their professions but with this, the students can make their own choice based on their strengths, she said.

    One of the participants, Friday Aaron, an SS1 pupil of Dairy Farm Secondary Schopol, who wants to be a neuro surgeon, said he was excited about attending the event.

     

  • Revealing all in sustainability reporting

    Revealing all in sustainability reporting

    There is a global standard for corporate bodies to report their social investments. But in Nigeria, many companies shy away from following this standard because it appears they have something to hide. Stakeholders are advising such companies to change their ways and adopt the global standard in preparing their sustainability report. ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI reports.

    Most corporate organisations in Nigeria are yet to understand how to draft their sustainability reporting, a new buzzword in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice. Over the years, they have continued to publish their social investment report without following the globally acceptable framework despite the domestication of the international standard on CSR called, NIS: ISO 26000 last year.

    The NIS: ISO 26000 was domesticated after many adoption processes sponsored by Etisalat Nigeria; Nigeria Breweries Plc; First Bank of Nigeria Plc; Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). The NIS: ISO was adopted for ensuring that charity and philanthropic activities of many corporate organisations are well documented in their social reporting in line with global sustainability reporting standard.

    Many indigenous business concerns are yet to understand what sustainability reporting is except the use of CSR to sustain their relationship with the communities where they operate. However, most of the experts championing the cause of sustainability reporting and CSR have always made efforts to enlighten business concerns on the need to ensure that social investments in their operating environments follow certain framework in other to enhance result.

    According to experts, sustainability report of an organisation gives information about its economic, environmental, social and governance performance and not just report collected data, but rather a method to internalise and improve an organisation’s commitment to sustainable development in a way that can be demonstrated to both internal and external stakeholders.

    Meanwhile, corporate sustainability reporting has a long history going back to environmental reporting. The first environmental reports were published in the late 1980s by companies in the chemical industry, which had serious image problems. They were followed by another group of committed small and medium-sized businesses with very advanced environmental management systems.

    Non-financial reporting, such as sustainability and CSR reporting, is a fairly recent trend, which has spanned the last 20 years. Many companies produce yearly sustainability report and there are many standards and ratings organisations. There are various reasons why companies choose to produce these reports, but primarily, the reports are intended to be “vessels of transparency and accountability.” Often, they are intended to improve internal processes, engage stakeholders and persuade investors.

    Organisations can improve their sustainability performance by measuring, monitoring and reporting on it; helping them to have a positive impact on the society, economy, and a sustainable future. The key drivers of quality sustainability reports are the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) award schemes or rankings. The GRI sustainability reporting guidelines enable all organisations worldwide assess their sustainability performance and disclose the results in a similar way to financial reporting. The largest database of corporate sustainability reports can be found on the website of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact initiative.

    However, in the light of these, stakeholders have said Nigeria accounts for insignificant two per cent in compliance to standard reporting of their sustainability practice, a situation industry experts regarded as dismal. “Nigeria accounts for a significant two per cent of GRI-based reports with South Africa leading with about 96 per cent and the other two per cent scattered around the rest of the continent. GRI Focal Point South Africa was launched in South Africa on February 26, last year. Though based in South Africa, the focus of its outreach and engagement is the broader Southern Africa region and key priority target markets on the continent namely: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Mauritius,” Head, Focal Point, Douglas Kativu said.

    The Lead Consultant/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Thistle Praxis Consulting, Ini Onuk, said while the standard reporting is germane to any sector of the economy, it is disheartening to see the country score low despite its huge potential. She noted that social sustainability reporting plays a tripartite role in institutionalising.

    Onuk affirmed that the global reporting community takes sustainability reporting serious. “ThistlePraxis has been engaging GRI for about three years now. At the same time, we have watched the increase albeit slow, in the number of organisations who signed on to the GRI framework. While we engaged GRI often; locally, we advocated constantly for not just the GRI framework but main-streaming sustainable development and non-financial reporting.”

    The Coordinator, GRI, Tendai Matika also noted that while Nigeria is critical to African economies, the country needs to embrace reporting standard using the new GRI yardstick, G4, which is an improvement on G3 to measure the impact of its social investment as well as enhance ethical corporate behaviour in the operating environment.

    “The visit afforded GRI the opportunity to also present sustainability reporting as a tool for the private sector to assess environmental, social, economic and governance impacts and performances to enhance competitiveness, raise awareness and promote better understanding of the GRI (G4) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. It is also to meet and engage organisations in Nigeria currently signed up to the GRI reporting framework in order to promote GRI support services and operational sustainability (OS) membership program,” he noted.

    While urging businesses to adopt G4 approach to CSR management, the new standard urged businesses to disclose grey areas in any category of their businesses in a financial year coded as DMA (Disclosure on Management Approach) in the G4 reporting standard information.

    “There are 44 aspects proposed for G4, including procurement practices in the economic category, equal remuneration for women and men in the labour category, and two aspects: screening and assessment, and remediation, in four categories (Environment, Labour, Human Rights and Society),” Matika said.

    Although adopting the global guidelines might not appear as easy as it sounds, issues of compliance have continued to prompt discussion among sustainability managers.

    Absence of regulation hampers sustainability and CSR development

    With slow adoption of global framework, Onuk said the absence of regulatory frameworks hampers the growth and development of sustainability and social reporting as key elements of business accountability. She stressed that compliance serves as a key driver to adopting accountability frameworks, which spurs organisations to become committed and demonstrate leadership in order to stay competitive.

    “Compliance is key, yet, integrity and actual integration of sustainability; no matter how unfavourable, is the Holy Grail,” she said. Onuk explained: ‘ThistlePraxis has been engaging GRI for about three years. At the same time, we have watched the increase albeit slow, in the number of organisations which signed on to the GRI framework. While we engaged GRI often; locally, we advocated constantly for not just the GRI framework, but main-streaming sustainable development and non-financial reporting,” she said.

    While the road to this milestone may be far and seemingly unwinding, GRI’s organisational stakeholders have been encouraged to demonstrate leadership through competitiveness, leverage on supply chain and impacts from best practices in order to encourage other organisations. According to her, G4 aligns with other recognised frameworks, such as UN Global Compact, ISO 26000, among others, to ensure that business sustainability is the goal and not just compliance.

    Using regulatory big-stick to enforce compliance

    The urgent need to regulate sustainability reporting in Nigeria was recommended by various experts. This call was made at a sustainability reporting dialogue organised by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Africa Focal Point office, South Africa. Meanwhile, Access Bank representative at the dialogue, Mr. Temitayo Ade-Peters, observed that the absence of regulations on sustainability would not foster level playing-grounds, hence making measuring commitment hazardous. However, the Lead, ICE, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigeria, Dr. Uwem Ite, described the use of regulatory agencies to drive the sustainability compliance as counteraction. He said using stakeholders to drive it would be a better option than “mandatory stick of government through regulations”.

    In the same vein, the Managing Director, Quadrant Company, Mr. Bolaji Okusaga, also argued that the “implementation of sustainability principles should be through voluntary commitment and not enforcement by government regulations.”

    The Advisor, Learning and Development, Chevron, Nigeria, Prof Yomi Fawehinmi, maintained that “if companies comply with writing the reports demanded by the different sectoral regulators in their industry, producing the sustainability report would be difficult”.

    Fawehinmi, however, noted that “organisations may not need to leapfrog to G4 immediately”.

    “With constant reporting annually, a sustainability report will align with global frameworks and standards in 3-4 years,” he added.

  • Etisalat sponsors 50 SMEs’ candidates’ training

    Etisalat sponsors 50 SMEs’ candidates’ training

    Etisalat Nigeria has carried out a five-day capacity building training for the successful top 50 candidates of the Etisalat EasyBusiness Millionaire Hunt at the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Speaking on the initiative, its Head, Business Market Segment, Mr. Bidemi Ladipo, explained the reason behind the Etisalat EasyBusiness Millionaire Hunt and why the telco is committed to small and medium scale enterprises’ (SMEs) development.

    He said: “The major idea behind the Etisalat EasyBusiness Millionaire Hunt is to inspire  small business owners and help them grow. Etisalat is well aware that even though every business starts small, they have the capacity to become big. Now in its fifth year of operations in Nigeria, Etisalat has grown exponentially in the market.

    “The Nigerian society is rich with individuals blossoming with impressive business innovations, ideas, and initiatives that will add value to the real sector of the economy. This speaks to the remarkable entrepreneurial landscape of the country. Unfortunately, some of these good ideas lack financial capital.”

    Ladipo also said the telco is determined to see that small and growing businesses with viable business ideas get a chance to blossom and that the capacity building sessions will go a long way to educate the successful participants on how to grow successful businesses.

    Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Mrs. Nneka Okekearu, lauded Etisalat for spear-heading an initiative that would “grow the Nigerian market and prepare its citizens for a better economic landscape”.

  • CSR vital to business, says Etisalat

    CSR vital to business, says Etisalat

    Etisalat Nigeria has emphasised the importance of sustainability and integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in business.

    The firm expressed this position at the recent CSR Master class organised by the Etisalat CSR Centre of the Lagos Business School, Pan-African University.

    In a statement, it said the Master class was designed to address emerging trends in sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and shared value, the future direction of CSR in Nigeria, confronting risks and creating opportunities through responsible management of the supply chain, among others.

    According to the Director, Brands and Communications, Etisalat, Enitan Denloye, “At Etisalat, Corporate Social Responsibility means creating value through sustainable products and services, minimising its environmental impact and striking a balance between contributing to the well-being of the society and meeting the expectations of our stakeholders”.

    He explained that Etisalat’s external CSR strategy is a two-pronged integrated approach, which he described as top-down and bottom-up.

     

     

     

    “This approach empowers various socio-economic levels, and ensures development and sustainability,” he said.

    “At the top, business leaders, policy and decision makers are trained on the significance of CSR best practices to enable them become genuine influencers and positively impact on those at the lower socio-economic levels.”

    Citing the creation of the Etisalat CSR Centre at the Lagos Business School as a major component of the company’s top-down approach, he said: “Many organizations tend to neglect the top-down approach to CSR practice. However, there’s a lot of research and knowledge on CSR to be harnessed, which is why we are partnering with the Lagos Business School to research more into CSR, hold seminars, courses, and international conferences and ensure that CSR modules are integrated into the MBA curriculum. The Etisalat CSR Centre focuses on the creation, dissemination and application of CSR knowledge.”

    He continued “at Etisalat Nigeria, we firmly believe that we have a responsibility to stakeholders whom we depend on for the survival and growth of our business. We are committed to being sustainable and thriving in the future; while facilitating the sustainable development of our host communities. And so we pledge to continue providing socially responsible products and services”.

    Denloye affirmed that that the telco is determined to maintain sustainable growth through its projects in the areas of Education, Health and the Environment, and continually engage all stakeholders in meaningful dialogue; with a view to making sustained economic, environmental and social impact on Nigeria.

     

  • Subscribers’ body moves to bar operators from paying NCC’s fines

    Subscribers’ body moves to bar operators from paying NCC’s fines

    A subscriber body, the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), filed yesterday a matter in court seeking to stop the payment of the fine imposed on three global system for mobile (GSM) communication service providers in the country.

    In a suit filed before a Lagos High Court by the Trustees of NATCOMS against the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Licensed Trustees of Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Airtel Networks Limited, Emerging Market Telecommunications Service Limited (Etisalat) and Globacom Limited as first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth defendants, the plaintiff is seeking an order of interlocutory injunction.

    According to a copy of the court papers, the plaintiff is seeking “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 1st defendant/respondent, its agents, privies, assigns including but not limited to its directors and officers, or any other persons or group of persons deriving authority through them from acting or purporting to act or giving effect to the 1st defendant/respondent’s decision purportedly imposing a fine of N185million on 3rd & 4th defendant/respondents each and N277.5milllion on the 6th defendant/respondent on account of poor quality service, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.”

    NATCOMS is also seeking “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 3rd, 4th & 6th defendants/respondents, their agents, privies, assigns including but not limited to their directors and officers, or any other persons or group of persons deriving authority through them from acting or purporting to act or giving effect to or complying with 1st defendant/respondent’s decision purportedly imposing a fine of N185million on 3rd & 4th defendants/respondents each and N277.5milion on the 6th defendants/respondents on account of poor quality service, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.”

     

  • N100m suit against Etisalat for hearing April 8

    N100m suit against Etisalat for hearing April 8

    The N100 million suit filed against mobile network operator, Etisalat by an aggrieved customer Pascal Ozioko has been adjourned to April 8 by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

    Ozioko in July 2012, approached the court following an alleged fraudulent promo by Etisalat.

    He urged the court to compel the firm to publish the names of the alleged winners in a lottery in which it sought to give out daily sums of N500,000 to participants.

    Joined as defendant in the suit is the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

    In his statement of claim, the plaintiff stated that in November 2011, he received several SMS from Etisalat, advertising a lottery.

    “Etisalat represented to its subscribers that Range Rover jeeps were to be won monthly, and a daily cash prize of N500,000, if subscribers answered daily questions sent to them.

    “Each text was to cost N100 and each correct answer attracted points to the subscriber, to qualify him for the prize” Ozioko said.

    According to the claimant, the representation was such that subscribers with the highest points will win the prizes.

    He claimed that he spent almost all his savings sending answers to the questions which eventually earned him 10 million points, to which he received an SMS from Etisalat congratulating him for obtaining the highest point.

    According to the plaintiff, “that was all I received from Etisalat.

    “I wrote on several occasions to the headquarters of the company at Plot

    19, Zone L, Banana Island Ikoyi, to verify the authenticity of their promises, but all to no avail” he stated.

    He said that this misrepresentation on the part of the defendant only led to the conclusion that they were using the lottery as a fraud scheme to defraud telecom subscribers, as such, prayed for an order compelling Etisalat to publish any of such winners in the national dailies.

    He also urged the court to award him N100 million as damages for misrepresentation and loss suffered

    At the resumed hearing, Counsel to the claimant, Chukwudi Nnaeke prayed the court for leave to amend his writ of summons and statement claim.

    Obliging him, Justice Yanusa adjourned the matter to April 8, to enable him regularise his processes before the court.

     

     

     

     

  • Reps oppose 2.3GHZ broadband spectrum auction

    Reps oppose 2.3GHZ broadband spectrum auction

    House of Representatives has decried the planned sale of 2.3GHZ broadband spectrum by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

    Its Committee on Communications has been mandated to review the pre-qualification criteria for companies wishing to participate in the proposed auction.

    The House also mandated the committee to look into future auctions of national telecommunications assets, with a view to including a requirement that interested companies be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (SEC).

    The lawmakers’ decision followed the adoption of a motion by Chris Azubogu (APGA, Anambra), who said most companies, which indicated interest in the auction, cannot be subjected to certain rules.

    He said: “Most of the major players in the industry – MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and others, all of whom have indicated a desire to participate in the auction, are privately-owned companies, which are not subject to the corporate governance and full disclosure standards obligatory for publicly- listed companies.

    “It is absence of standards, which makes our prime national telecommunications assets to be transferred to companies without proper authentication of their financial status.

    “Auction of communications licences to unquoted companies is not in the public policy interest of the Nigerian state and it is dangerous to the well-being of the industry”.

    Major telecommunications companies, including MTN, Glo, Airtel, Zinox among others were reported to have bid for the 2.3GHZ broadband spectrum licence, following the announcement for the auction by NCC.

     

  • Genevieve Nnaji signs endorsement deal with Etisalat

    Genevieve Nnaji signs endorsement deal with Etisalat

    TOP Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji, has now joined the league of Nollywood actors who are ambassadors of leading telecommunications company, Etisalat.

    The Nation gathered that the beautiful actress and mother of one signed the deal on Wednesday January 22.

    The company announced the positive development some minutes after the contract was signed, saying, “We officially welcome @genevievennaji as an Etisalat Ambassador for #Easyflex.”

    Already, the new development has been generating excitement among her far-flung fans on the social media.

    Meanwhile, few minutes after announcement, the management of the company went a step further to disclose that they don’t “believe in quantity but quality.”

    Consequently, some are already insinuating that the company was referring to another telecommunication company that has signed on several Nollywood actors as ambassadors.

  • War of words

    War of words

    COSON vs. BON: The tussle between the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) is one of the major face-offs that have rocked the music industry in 2013.

    Some weeks ago, both BON and the Independent Broadcasting Associations of Nigeria (IBAN) made a declaration suspending the musical works of COSON- affiliated artistes in the country due to what they termed COSON’s attitude of antagonism and harassment under the leadership of Chief Tony Okoroji.

    Since then, Nigerian singers have come together in their battle with IBAN and BON seeking justice, respect for their intellectual property and fair compensations for their creativity.

    DON Jazzy vs. Wande Coal: 2013 witnessed a fracas between ace music producer, Don Jazzy, and singer Wande Coal. The former accused the latter of allegedly stealing one of his songs titled Baby face.

    Shortly after Wande Coal released a new single, Baby face, under his Black Diamond Entertainment on Tuesday, November 5, Don Jazzy took to Twitter, saying, “How long will I continue to sweat and some people will choose to steal from me. That I am nice and easy-going doesn’t mean you should disrespect me”, Don Jazzy tweeted with the subject of the matter left in the dark.

    It didn’t take long before he tweeted his own version of Baby face, explaining that he had recorded a studio demo about a year ago and he went ahead to tweet a link to his own version describing Wande Coal’s action as intellectual property theft.

    Not long after Don Jazzy’s tweet began to trend that Wande also responded on Twitter, accusing his former Mavin Records boss of not being ‘happy with his progress after serving him for 10 years’.

    It got dirtier as Wande Coal accused Don Jazzy of suffering from what he called ‘Twitter attention syndrome’.

    “It is with sad heart that I make this response. Steal from you? I served for 10 years. Why are you not happy with my progress? You have my phone number, email address and my DM to communicate with me, but you chose twitter- attention syndrome. After all these years of being loyal to you, I can never believe you will ever say this to me, trying to bring me down on twitter.”

    BRYMO vs. Chocolate City: Ashimi Olawale Ibrahim, a.k.a Brymo, had earlier in the year quit the recording company and gone on to release a new album.

    He alleged that Chocolate City had refused to be reasonable in its contractual demands and rejected an agreement to release him from a deal that he no longer feels represents his true interests.

    Chocolate City, on the other hand, has invoked the powers of law in order to protect its business interests.

    Chocolate City instituted an action against Brymo at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, in suit no: FHC/L/1422/2013. The contentious issue is that Brymo has a contract with Chocolate City, which is apparently valid till 2016. But he no longer wishes to continue with the contract.

    However, Chocolate City is not willing to oblige him and is holding him bound to the contract he signed.

    JULIUS Agwu vs. Etisalat: Another face-off was between comedian Julius Agwu and telecoms giant, Etisalat.

    The humour merchant threatened to drag the former to court for blocking his business line. He demanded for N100million as compensation for jobs lost, contact lost, inconveniences and maltreatment by Etisalat staff.

    In a reaction to the allegation, Etisalat’s Public Relations Manager, Chineze Amanfo, was reported to have said that contrary to the reports of the issue on some blogs and news sites, a SIM swap was performed on the said line after the ‘requester’ provided the company’s customer care executives with necessary SIM replacement information, in accordance with the laid down NCC’s regulations and process for SIM swap.

    She added that the SIM replacement information includes security and personal requirements to the owner, which the ‘requester’ provided before the swap was effected.

    “Subsequently, upon a report made at our office by Mr. Agwu that he is the owner of the line and did not authorize anyone to swap it, our customer care executives promptly restored the line as well as the airtime lost during the swap process,” she said.

    However, the public is yet to see the end of this face-off between the two brands, as Agwu recently promised to file a law suit against them for not responding appropriately in the said letter.

  • Etisalat assures of hitch-free service at Yuletide

    Etisalat assures of hitch-free service at Yuletide

    The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher has assured its customers across the country that it has invested enough resources to assure hitch-free call and data services during the Yuletide and even beyond.

    Willsher, who spoke at the presentation of prizes to winners at the Etisalat Pan African Prize for Innovation in Lagos, said innovation is the life blood of any organisation or economy without which progress could hardly be achieved.

    He said Etisalat keyed into promoting innovation because of its imperativeness to the fast growing IT world.

    On service quality, he said Etisalat is on top of its game, assuring subscribers of good service quality during and after the Yuletide.

    He said: “The quality of service is really important and we care about it tremendously. So we track both our performance and also what customers think about our performance. Our customers rate Etisalat as number one in terms of satisfaction, in the way we carry out promotions and in terms of loyalty. We are confident that customers are actually happy with the services they are getting from our network.

    “We are always striving to make it better. We are building more capacity internet network, we are bringing more innovation in terms of services and that is going to improve the quality of service and make sure we remain and perceived by our customer as their number one choice. We have covered all the 36 states in Nigeria now. We want to build more density so that people can get more and better coverage everywhere that they go.”

    The Innovation Prize was launched to promote brilliant ideas for the production of services able to improve education as well as deepen knowledge via technology.

    The innovator of Asa, an African application for teaching African languages and cultures, Mr. Adebayo Adegbembo emerged the winner, Uche Okocha, the innovator of Efiwe mobile application emerged the first runner up and Emmanuel Michael Oluwatoyin, the innovator of Qcefa Education training portal emerged the runner up, most innovative. While Adebayo carted home $25,000, Uche, $10, 000, others left with smart phones.

    Speaking with The Nation after the awards, Adebayo said: “Asa is a growing collection of Nigerian cultures to educate kids about their culture in a fascinating manner. This whole thing is a very laudable gesture from Etisalat. It is recognising that we have got talents in this country and I say a big thank you to them for helping to support. For us again, it is going to the next level, our goal is to cover as many cultures as possible.”

    Efiwe application according to Okocha is simply an artificial intelligent driven social education network not a social network. It presents education in an interactive and stimulating manner to students. He said: “I happen to be in an environment where education is not really stimulating. You want to learn but you don’t really see things that will make you want to learn. Efiwe is using this platform to make education beyond its scope.” Okocha said the money will go into the development of the idea.