The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ICT

  • ICT varsity campus set to take off in Enugu

    Ahead of the take-off of the Federal Government’s proposed University of Information and Communication Technology, members of its implementation committee have visited the Digital Bridge Institute Enugu designated as one of the campuses of the university.

    The proposed ICT University will be a multi-campus institution of the present Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) located in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Asaba and Yola.

    The President Muhammadu Buhari administration had mandated the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu to set up a university of ICT in recognition of the rapid pace of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and the huge impact on the economy which country that harvests the technical talents and specialists it can engender,

    In fulfillment of Mr. President’s objective to set up University of ICT, so as to enhance learning environment and create millions of jobs through skilled ICT workforce, the Ministry of Communications set up an implementation committee, chaired by erudite Professor Julius Okojie, former Secretary of National University Commission (NUC) and Dr Amina Sambo Magaji as Secretary.

    Some members of the Implementation Committee for the Proposed ICT University conducted a physical assessment of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Enugu, one of the six ICT learning centers built by NCC in the country.

    Members of the Committee in the assessment team were Dr. Henry Nkemadu, Matthew A. Olaniyan and Mr Osita Okechuwu, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON).

    Speaking with journalists at the site, Okechukwu said the committee is expected to make a physical assessment of the facilities on site, including buildings, road infrastructure, and equipment.

    According to the VON DG, the committee will also determine the additional requirements for the University to meet with international best practices.

    The university is expected to take off from the next academic year.

  • Minister: skilled ICT manpower gap widening

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has lamented the widening gap in skilled manpower in the information communication technology (ICT) sector in the country. He said expatriates have virtually taken over the tech space in the country.

    Shittu, who spoke at the inauguration of an Implementation Committee on the proposed ICT University of Nigeria, in Abuja,  said it has become imperative to have the university to leapfrog the country into a digital economy.

    The Committee has six weeks to submit its report so that the university can begin academic activities in the next session.

    Headed by the former Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, the minister said the six campuses of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) located in the six geo-political zones of the country would serve as the university campuses.

    He said the Federal Government has already secured the endorsement of Facebook, Glo, Huawie, Cisco, MTN, Motorola, Ericsson, Siemens, Apple and Samsung among others to turn the campuses to specialised institutes for the ICT University.

    He said the establishment of the university has become imperative considering the urgent needs to bridge the gap in the ICT-related sectors of the economy, regretting that expatriates are having a field day in Nigeria in the absence of indigenous professionals and skilled-graduates.

    “The DiBI, when transformed into the ICT University, will provide fit-for-purpose curricular to cater for university graduates with specialisation in various ICT fields and expertise.  This will create employment opportunities for Nigerians both locally, within the West-African sub-region and even at the international level, aside from several opportunities that would be created for self-employment,” the minister said.

  • ICT varsity campus set to take off in Enugu

    ICT varsity campus set to take off in Enugu

    Ahead of the take-off of the Federal Government’s proposed University of Information and Communication Technology, members of its implementation committee have visited the Digital Bridge Institute Enugu designated as one of the campuses of the university.

    The proposed ICT University will be a multi-campus institution of the present Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) located in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Asaba and Yola.

    The President Muhammadu Buhari administration had mandated the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu to set up a university of ICT in recognition of the rapid pace of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and the huge impact on the economy which country that harvests the technical talents and specialists it can engender,

    In fulfillment of Mr. President’s objective to set up University of ICT, so as to enhance learning environment and create millions of jobs through skilled ICT workforce, the Ministry of Communications set up an implementation committee, chaired by erudite Professor Julius Okojie, former Secretary of National University Commission (NUC) and Dr Amina Sambo Magaji as Secretary.

    Some members of the Implementation Committee for the Proposed ICT University conducted a physical assessment of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Enugu, one of the six ICT learning centers built by NCC in the country.

    Members of the Committee in the assessment team were Dr. Henry Nkemadu, Matthew A. Olaniyan and Mr Osita Okechuwu, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON).

    Speaking with journalists at the site, Okechukwu said the committee is expected to make a physical assessment of the facilities on site, including buildings, road infrastructure, and equipment.

    According to the VON DG, the committee will also determine the additional requirements for the University to meet with international best practices.

    The university is expected to take off from the next academic year.

  • Firm to train students on ICT

    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consultancy firm BSO Mega System Computer, is set to organise ICT trainings for secondary school pupils in Lagos State.

    The training is meant to acquaint them with in-depth knowledge of the ICT beyond the popular social media engagements such as facebook, whasapp and others, which many of them have become addicted to.

    The trainings, which will commence at the resumption of the third term, will be purely practical as against merer class work many schools are used to.

    The firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bello Dada Obashua, said the exercise is imperative because ICT has become an integral part of human existence in the contemporary world.

    He noted that with the introduction of computer-based examinations by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other professional bodies as well as the demand for ICT knowledge for prospective job seekers, the workshop would equip the pupils for the challenges ahead.

    “We want to ensure that no student fails because of his/ her deficiency in computer knowledge. ICT has impacted on nearly every aspect of our lives; from working to socialising, learning to playing. In fact, ICT has become even embedded in our culture so we must provide the students with relevant and contemporary experiences that will engage them successfully,” he said.

    He identified some of the programmes to include: computer-based examination technology, data processing, networking, web designing, internet technology, video and picture editing among others.

  • Minister: skilled ICT manpower gap widening

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has lamented the widening gap in skilled manpower in the information communication technology (ICT) sector in the country. He said expatriates have virtually taken over the tech space in the country.

    Shittu, who spoke at the inauguration of an Implementation Committee on the proposed ICT University of Nigeria, in Abuja,  said it has become imperative to have the university to leapfrog the country into a digital economy.

    The Committee has six weeks to submit its report so that the university can begin academic activities in the next session.

    Headed by the former Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, the minister said the six campuses of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) located in the six geo-political zones of the country would serve as the university campuses.

    He said the Federal Government has already secured the endorsement of Facebook, Glo, Huawie, Cisco, MTN, Motorola, Ericsson, Siemens, Apple and Samsung among others to turn the campuses to specialised institutes for the ICT University.

    He said the establishment of the university has become imperative considering the urgent needs to bridge the gap in the ICT-related sectors of the economy, regretting that expatriates are having a field day in Nigeria in the absence of indigenous professionals and skilled-graduates.

    “The DiBI, when transformed into the ICT University, will provide fit-for-purpose curricular to cater for university graduates with specialisation in various ICT fields and expertise.  This will create employment opportunities for Nigerians both locally, within the West-African sub-region and even at the international level, aside from several opportunities that would be created for self-employment,” the minister said.

    He said the university would not only be driven and largely funded by the private sector, but the curriculum would be tailored towards meeting Nigeria industrial growth and development with ICT as its main focus, adding that Research and Development are key areas to fast track socio-economic progress of the country.

    He said: “ICT capacity building including research and development are championed by the private sector; thus creating opportunities for continuous linkage between the outcome of researches and the industry.

    “In this regard, the proposed ICT University of Nigeria should be driven by the ICT industry itself. The university would offer varieties of programmes aimed at providing specialist knowledge and expertise required for a professional career in the broad field of ICT such as telecoms, Internet of Things (IoT), cyber security, robotic embedded systems, computer forensics, digital media and entertainment technology.

    “The university would also be expected to offer skills development programmes in emerging and transformational technologies such as Cloud Computing and Big Data. It is expected that each of the six campuses of the present DBI would be transformed into a centre of technological excellence in specific areas of ICT.

    “Teaching experience in the new university should include a blend of theory, analysis, innovation and hands-on activities, such as project based learning and live industry-led projects.”

    The minister listed areas where he expected the Committee to deliver on its assignments within six weeks to include developing a  very robust curriculum of the proposed ICT University of Nigeria; DBI’s facilities utilisation including upgrade and expansion where necessary; proposed faculty members for the university including resource persons.

     

  • Firm to train students on ICT

    Firm to train students on ICT

    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consultancy firm BSO Mega System Computer, is set to organise ICT trainings for secondary school students in Lagos State.

    The training is meant to acquaint the students with in-depth knowledge of ICT beyond the popular social interactive sites such as facebook, whasapp and others which many of the students have become addicted to at the detriment of the core ICT knowledge which they can master for their self-development.

    The trainings, which will begin at the resumption of the third term, will be purely practical as against the theory many schools are used to.

    The firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bello Dada Obashua, said the exercise is imperative because ICT has become an integral part of human existence in the contemporary world.

    He noted that with the introduction of computer-based examinations by Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other professional bodies as well as the demand for ICT knowledge for prospective job seekers, the workshop would be able to equip the students for the challenges ahead.

    “We want to ensure that no student fails because of his/ her deficiency in computers knowledge. ICT has impacted on nearly every aspect of our lives; from working to socialising, learning to playing. In fact, ICT has become even embedded in our culture, so we must provide the students with relevant and contemporary experiences that will engage them successfully,” he said.

    He identified some of the programmes to include: computer-based examination technology, data processing, networking, web designing, internet technology, video and picture editing among others, adding that participants would be issued certificates at the of the workshops.

    He added that the exercise which is being organised in partnership with Vienie Communications, a media and branding firm, would be so flexible that the duration would be determined by each participating school.

    “Since the workshops would be taking place from one school to another, each school may determine how long they want their students to be trained. This is even an opportunity for ICT teachers in the schools to upgrade their knowledge of computer because as experts , we intend to give the participants the best of the best trainings,” Obashua concluded.

  • NIWIIT empower women, girls with IT skills

    NIWIIT empower women, girls with IT skills

    An umbrella body for women actively involved in the information technology (IT) industry, Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIIT) has recently organised a hands-on workshop to train women and
    young girls on trending IT solutions and skills necessary to thrive in the fast-changing digital age.

    The training which also marked NIWIIT’s 3rd national Conference themed; Women and ICT: Veritable tools for Sustainable Economy featured IT experts who trained participants on specific IT subjects which included mobile app development, ethical hacking and web programming.

    NIWIIT President, Florence Babalola said the training was a significant part of the association’s objectives to ensure women and young girls in the country are digital literates and economically
    dependent.

    She noted that the workshop would be sustained project of the association. She added that the training would further extend its reach to rural areas of the country where culture, illiteracy and poverty have deprived women and young girls from reaping the dividends of ICT.

    She said: This first edition of NIWIIT IT workshop is designed to enhance participants’ knowledge and empower them economically in order to national development. Furthermore, we are working hard with the
    federal government and necessary agencies to establish a tech centre in different geographical parts of the country, especially in rural areas.

    The tech centre is going to be dedicated to the hands-on training of Nigerian young girls and women on ICT.

    Also speaking at the event, the Lagos state’s Honourable Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Lola Akande described the need for women and girls IT literacy as essential for productivity and poverty eradication amongst women.

    She said: “It is unarguable that what would take women to be highly competitive and enable her to escape the high rate of hunger and poverty, she needs more than anything else a deep knowledge in the world of
    information and communication technology. Ignoring this fact can only escalade the problem such as violence against women, economic dependency and low self-esteem among women”

    She further calls for a partnership between NIWIIT and the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and poverty Alleviation to achieve this goal.

    “It is my opinion that for us to record a sustainable transformation in our economic development, there is need for us to create a system based on values and it is on this note that I call for synergy between your organisation (NIWIIT) and the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to ensure that our girls and women are supported in becoming technologically competitive, and ensure that they gain proper understanding of how to use it safely and effectively as against the norms where our young ladies have unwittingly reduced the power of emerging social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat as a mere dating site instead of seeing it as a veritable tool to market their entrepreneurial ideas,” She said.

  • Senate raises alarm over global cyber threats

    Senate raises alarm over global cyber threats

    …Says $450m lost by Nigerian firms to attacks

    The Senate has alerted the National Security Adviser (NSA), security agencies and financial institutions to the various dimensions of cyber-attacks going on around the world.

    At its plenary on Tuesday, the Senate revealed that some Nigerian firms have lost over $450 million to cyber-attacks in about 3,500 cases.

    The security alert was issued following a motion sponsored by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai who urged concerted efforts to secure Nigeria’s cyberspace.

    According to Senator Abdulfatai, the latest in the series of the attacks were carried out on May 12, 2017.

    Consequently, the upper legislative chamber has mandated its standing committee on ICT and Cybercrime to organise a stakeholders’ conference on the matter.

    The conference will be geared toward stimulating a collective reflection among relevant stakeholders and articulating a national and broad-based approach to keeping the country ahead of the challenge.

    The senator further revealed that over 75,000 computers, in 99 countries were crippled by “ransomware” last week, which he said, rapidly spreads across the globe.

    He cited British hospitals, the Russian Government, German railways and several other big companies among those affected by the attack.

    Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided over the plenary, urged stakeholders to come together and find a lasting solution to the menace.

    He also warned that strategic institutions of government may equally be targeted if urgent steps were not taken by the relevant agencies to check the spread.

    “They hack into our emails every day. I am also a victim. They open social media accounts in my name and I have said it that I am not on social media.

    “The main threat is that our strategic institutions may be attacked by these hackers. All stakeholders need to come together to deal with this challenge”, Ekweremadu said.

    Addressing newsmen shortly after the plenary session, Senator Abdulfatai said cyber-attacks are taking a dangerous dimension all over the world.

    Abdulfatai said, “For instance, the Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays Bank of UK suffered 48-hour online attack from 11th to 13th of January this year, in which the criminals attempted to block about 20 million accounts.

    “They bombarded Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland with millions of fake requests designed to grind the groups’ systems to a halt and asked for a huge ransom in bit coins to end the attacks, which were being prevented by the Denial of Access (DOS) system.

    “On the 12th of May alone this year, at least 200,000 targets in over 150 countries were hit by cyber-attacks which the Internet Protocol suggested to have originated from the Middle East particularly from Syria and Iran, as well as from Kenya, supposedly using a malware known as Lazarus to compromise systems in banking and information networks, with no clear evidence yet as to how the act was perfected, and that the criminals are already targeting Nigeria.

    “Alarmed about revelations from studies that over 70% of hacking attempts so far, i.e. about 3500 cyber-attacks on the Nigeria lCT space, have been successful resulting in loss of over $450 million and that government servers are currently under serious threat”.

  • Job creation: Senate to partner U.S. Chamber of Commerce on ICT

    Job creation: Senate to partner U.S. Chamber of Commerce on ICT

    The Senate has plans to work with the United States (U.S.) Chamber of Commerce African Business Centre to develop an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector towards diversifying the economy and job creation, it was learnt yesterday.
    Senate President Bukola Saraki reportedly made the pledge in Abuja when a group, led by Ms. Leila Ndiaye, visited him ahead of the launch of the ICT Working Group in Abuja.
    Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, thanked the U.S. Chamber for its interest in working together with relevant agencies to develop an ICT sector in Nigeria.
    He described as timely, the upcoming launch of the Working Group for the country as the nation seeks to diversify its economy and develop new avenues to reduce unemployment rate, particularly among the youths.
    Saraki noted that the activities of the Working Group will create many Public Private Partnership (PPP) opportunities and he assured the delegation of the National Assembly’s commitment to the development of the nation’s ICT infrastructure for both commercial and social advancement.
    Saraki said: “For ICT to thrive and lead to the creation of jobs and other social services, the National Assembly and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would need to work together to initiate laws that would create an environment that wiil attract foreign investments, support local start-ups and encourage global competitive models.
    ”What I think I know how to do is how to make things happen in government. What we need to do is to sit down with you and see what laws we need to pass, what laws do we need to amend, what regulations do we need to review to strengthen the ICT sector in Nigeria to truly create jobs and create opportunities that will bring investors to the sector.”
    He called on the Working Group to come up with a report, specifying what laws needed to be passed to support the development and growth of the ICT industry in the country.
    “Our responsibility is that when you give us that road map, we can come up with some documentation that will highlight the priority on what to do, and I can assure you that it will not be an exercise in futility”, he added.
    He said it has become imperative for the government to look at ways of eliminate multiple taxation across local and state jurisdictions and provide other incentives to reduce the operating costs of fledgling technology firms.
    Saraki, however, reiterated the Senates’s support for the Working Group for the delivery of its mandate.
    Explaining the team’s mission, Ms Ndiaye said the Working Group would bring together public and private organisations that are interested in developing Nigeria’s ICT sector to enhance its commercial and social impact.
    “The idea is to get the Working Group to review the relevant laws and regulations governing the ICT sector and determine a list of priority reform recommendations”, Ms Ndiaye said.

  • JAMB and Africa’s place in global ICT revolution

    One of Africa’s most talked-about ICT success stories in the education sector is the adoption of Computer Based Test (CBT) for entrance examination into tertiary schools organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, a body with a core mandate to conduct matriculation examination for entry into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.

    Globally, there has been an ICT revolution since 2000. The internet economy has grown larger and faster than could have been reasonably expected back then.  In future, technology, connectedness, the internet-of-things all promise a more efficient, fast-paced economy set within an accessible global market. But how can Africa really harness all this change to its betterment?

    For a long time, ‘creativity’ and ‘innovation’ in technology were only latent concepts in Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular, until the dawn of the digital age. ICT plays an important, valuable and critical role in education development. Its usage has become very common but its full potential is yet to be discovered. Nigeria’s JAMB is now playing a critical role in ensuring that Africa maintains its pride of place in the Global ICT arena with a particular reference to education. It is heartwarming to see that fact that developing countries have now understood the importance of ICT and have started adapting to it as a basic tool for quality education.

    The trailblazing credentials of JAMB experienced a surge with the coming on board of Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who has accelerated reforms at the institution and fast-tracked innovation. JAMB is applying ICT to areas that no one would have thought possible.

    The ICT mediated examination innovation by JAMB, which replaced the Paper and Pencil Based examination system that was fraught with problems of accuracy and delay in timely results’ declaration is an effective tool for integrating and automating the activities of examination system to bring reliable, efficient, transparent and robust e-examination solutions for Africa.

    JAMB, especially under Professor Oleyede, has increased its institutional capacity and credibility since the introduction of the CBT in 2015. Determined to make the Computer Based Test all inclusive to different category of candidates with disabilities, JAMB embarked on nationwide training for visually impaired on the use of Apex Braille-note computer. This is quite commendable.

    The Apex Braille-note computer is an electronic devise invented by the board to enable visually impaired to take the Computer Based Test without stress like a normal Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidate.

    The machine is affixed to a desktop computer and questions are deployed to it electronically with hearing aid. No fewer than 200 visually impaired participants in the training held at designated venues across the nation; namely South West Resource Centre in Abeokuta, Lagos , Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt.

    It is a good thing that the parliament through the House of Representatives committee on education has thrown its weight behind the JAMBs ICT drive with reference to the Computer Based Test (CBT) when it said the electronic test was in tandem with global dictates to sanitized the education system. “The paper Pencil Test (PPT) was cumbersome and characterized with several irregularities and unwholesome activities. The world is flying and we cannot be crawling”. The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on education Hon. Zakari Mohammed was quoted to have said.

    Thus, if the board’s major objective is to completely eliminate malpractices through the conduct of CBT, it may as well have achieved it because the CBT has to a large extent eliminated malpractice in the examination process. As with everything good, there are those who will lose because of the elimination of malpractices. These are the people that pick holes in the reform and tend to highlight the few teething issues.

    Irrespective of how much such people try to make a mountain out of a molehill, JAMB could compete auspiciously with any examination body in the world considering its innovation in digitizing its examination. The innovation has now restored confidence and integrity in its examination process. With the pace of the current registrar, the body is set to become a global reference point.

    From its application to obviously mundane tasks to its use for the noblest of all human endeavors, the place of information and communication technology (ICT) in today’s world cannot be over-emphasized. The fate of individuals, businesses and countries largely depends on how fast they latch on to the ICT revolution and stay ahead in the game. It is the 21st Century equivalent of the scramble for land and territory most races of humankind have been involved in from ages past.

    Against the backdrop of the importance of ICT to the present era, the effort by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) which has now phased out the use of the paper and pencil method for its examinations in favour of computer-based tests, is not only a commendable step in the right direction, it is also a pointer to the fact that Africa and indeed Nigeria is playing a very crucial role in global ICT revolution.

    A disquieting percentage of graduates in the country today are not computer literate, thus, making them unemployable. This wouldn’t have been the trend if all critical stakeholders in the education string had been proactive in espousing ICT, specifically in testing candidates over the last two decades. The contemporary workplace is ICT-oriented and anyone not trained in this direction is hopelessly unfit to take on many tasks in the corporate world, which can only get more sophisticated, as technology is being daily improved to work more for the human race. Embracing ICT for providing the robust, transparent, accurate and authenticated outputs as we have witnessed with the JAMB innovation brings substantial quality improvement in education and this needs to be extended to other examinations in the country.

    Nigeria’s JAMB has taken the lead. There is no gainsaying the fact that ICT will make exam system more efficient and transparent. This will produce competent human resources, which will contribute to the development of the country. The development at JAMB, which fully digitized and modernized most of its operation is the way to go and should be rolled across others facets of the education sector.

    A consensus has been built around the fact that today is the era of technology which is resulting in changing the life style of people. Today many African institutions are imparting education in the field of ICT, but its application in the functioning of the system is low. The meaning of computerization is limited to just typing or surfing web; full potential of ICT has not been explored. ICT is a useful tool to have transparency, reliability and efficiency in examination system. There are tremendous facilitations integrating ICT with examination system. JAMB’s ICT innovation from what we have seen will ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the examination system and effectively deal with malpractice and inefficiency thus bringing about the much needed change.

     

    • Clement, a medical practitioner, contributed this piece from Harvard University, USA.