The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NIG

  • Army vows to punish erring officers

    Army vows to punish erring officers

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has warned that any act of disloyalty, disobedience to constituted authority and insubordination by officers and  personnel of the Nigerian Army would henceforth be decisively dealt with.

    Buratai further warned that defaulters would be shown the way out of the army.

    Buratai said on Thursday at Jaji, at the Passing out Parade and Commissioning for 205 officer cadets of “Executive Commission Course VII” of Nigerian Army School of Infantry.

    “The Nigerian Army is currently taking stock and undergoing a period of self-appraisal.

    “Therefore, there is zero tolerance for indiscipline and unprofessional conduct.eria newspaper

    Nigeria newspaperNeria nws

    “You have all taken your oath of allegiance to be loyal first to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, thereafter to the Nigerian Army and down the line.

    “Consequently, I command you to avail yourself with the approved Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service as it applies to your Commission.

    “The Nigerian Army is strictly guided by this document in its engagements and re-engagement of its personnel.

    “I also need to emphasize that as a professional Army, there are established channels of communication with regards to official matters, correspondences and even expression of grievances.

    “You are to be guided by these channels throughout your career,” Buratai said.

    He charged the newly commissioned cadets to contribute their quota to the army’s efforts at preserving the national security.

    Buratai noted that their commissioning was coming at a period when the army was consolidating on the gains of several years of intensive security challenge in the North East, North Central and South South regions.

    NAN

  • NIG urges Buhari to force down internet access cost

    The Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to force down the cost of internet access in the country, adding that it is only by doing this that more people will use the internet and tap from its immense benefits.

    Its President, Bayo Banj, who spoke during its yearly conference and exhibition in Lagos, said the government should limit itself to policy and regulatory matters but must intervene in pricing to allow more people to benefit.

    He said the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) should also be prevailed upon to force internet service providers to make a distinction between local and international internet traffic.

    “This is the first step. It will also allow groups to host their servers incountry. NCC must force internet providers to make a distinction between internal data and international data. They should also be forced to take services to other parts of the country. They are comfortable remaining in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities where they serve the banks and other big companies,” Banjo said.

    With Internet Penetration: The way forward as its theme, NIG chief said internet is one of the very innovations meant for the youth, adding that cybercrimes are most associated with the youths. He therefore urged policy makers to factor the youths into making any policy that has to do with this age bracket.

    He wondered if the laws allow a brilliant hacker, who is only 15 years old to be employed by an agency of the government, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to help burst cyber crimes. He also stressed the need for a re-orientation  and reform of the education sector, arguing that with the state of the sector, it is doubtful if it would be able to produce the required skilled manpower that would drive the economic development of the country.

    Banjo said the time has come for the government to exert a form of control over what people put on the internet. He took exception to the current practice where people go to the internet to insult people and cast aspersions on their reputation.

    He said to address this, “Swift Courts” should be set up across the country to deal with character assassination and defamation using the internet, adding that the need to restrict what happens on the internet is informed by the fact that young persons are becoming indoctrinated through the internet.

    He took a swipe at excuses, such as spectrum unavailability holding back internet penetration, saying a country, noting that as South Korea has 2.3 gigahertz (GH) spectrum is adjudged to have full penetration.

     

  • NIG chief roots for NigComSat’s sale

    NIG chief roots for NigComSat’s sale

    The Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) has called on the Federal Government to urgently transfer the ownership of Nigeria Satellite Communication Limited (NigComSat 1R) firm to private investors, adding that it is the only way the satellite firm can be properly managed to serve the purpose for which it was designed.

    Its National President, Bayo Banjo, who spoke over the weekend in Lagos, said the satellite firm has the capacity to provide affordable, reliable and fast internet connectivity to all the nooks and crannies of the country, lamenting that this enormous resource has been left idle by the government.

    Banjo warned that NigComSat 1R should not be allowed to go the way of former state-run but now moribund telecoms firm, Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) and its mobile arm, MTel.

    According to him, provision of internet infrastructure is one way the government can create employment opportunities for the army of the unemployed and reduce criminal activities in the country.

    He said: “NigComSat has capacity to deliver internet connectivity to every part of Nigeria but the capacity is just sitting idly there. I think it should be sold to private entrepreneurs for proper management. It should be sold to investors with real money and not investors with non-real money (ill-gotten wealth) else, it will go the way of NITEL. There are so many estates in Abuja that are not occupied. This is because of the exorbitant rent placed on them. They have been there for years unoccupied. These are estates built with unreal money. No investor with real money (money realised through legitimate means) will allow his property to be tied down like that for five years unoccupied; he will reduce the rent so that people can come occupy the buildings. In developed countries, government will show interest in the source of the money. That is why things are not working here.”

    He said: “The internet is a tool that can help create jobs for our unemployed youths. If there is good internet infrastructure, our youths can get jobs overseas while being in Nigeria. India is using the internet to the advantage of its citizens. It has led to the creation of applications which have boosted the economy of India.”

    In his reaction, Head, Corporate Affairs, NigComSat Limited, Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore, said Banjo, in his position as president of NIG could not be stopped from coming to see the level of infrastructure on ground at the Abuja office of the firm.

    He insisted that instead of making spurious statements about the firm, Banjo, who is an engineer, should have first come on inspection of the facility, adding that the NIG president neither knows the number of transponders the firm has nor where its network operating centre is located.

    “He should come to Abuja and find out what is on ground and what is not on ground,” he said, adding that NigComSat is a government company and if the governent wants to privatise it, let it be.

    Banjo said the internet is one way the government could open up employment opportunities for the ever increasing army of the jobless.

    He called on the Federal Government to intervene in the provision of internet infrastructure, but warned that such intervention should not be viewed by the government as active participation in the industry, insisting that the government has no business in doing business.

    Banjo identified speed, cost, reliability and devices as factors affecting internet penetration in the country, lamenting that despite the availability of, at least, four operators with capacity to provide ubiquitous internet service to the country, penetration remained low. He said the absence of anti-competitive law or the failure to apply it, sabotage and apathy are factors militating against the penetration of internet.

  • NIG chief urges zonal allocation of spectrum

    NIG chief urges zonal allocation of spectrum

    President, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), Bayo Banjo, has called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to stop the licensing of spectrum to internet service providers (ISPs) in the country, arguing that the method disenfranchises smaller communities from enjoying the benefits of information communication technology (ICT).

    Banjo, who spoke at the Annual e-Business Conference organised by the group in Lagos at the weekend, said the allocation for spectrum should be done on zonal basis to deepen internet penetration.

    According to him, the current allotees are preoccupied with deploying services in urban areas such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other major cities in the country. he said this development will hamper the ubiquity of access to the internet by a majority of the citizens.

    Banjo suggested that in view of the huge population and land mass of the country, the NCC should divide the country into about 70 zones for this purpose, lamenting that the current holders of the spectrum were “just sitting on them.”

    He said: “The NCC should divide the country into zones and allocate spectrum according to the zones. This is very vital because people in Sokoto and other parts of the country also have the right to be part of the global village.”

    According to him, allocation of frequencies on a zonal basis will also make it easy for the NCC to revoke such licenses when not put into use. He said if the quest for broadband penetration of the government will make any meaning, zonal spectrum licensing is a sine qua non.

    He stressed the need to encourage the growth and development of local talents. He said this is the only way to build an economy that will be driven with technology. He charged the Federal Government to dump romanticism, stop focusing on illusions and take steps to develop local talents.

    He lamented that due to the nature of the country, any talented individual will not remain so long, but be snatched by the western countries.

    He commended the Opon Imo initiative of Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, adding that other states should emulate the innovative product which he said will expose students, at early stages to the super high way of technology.