The Nation Newspaper

Tag: social media

  • NFF bans social media in camp

    NFF bans social media in camp

    • Eagles’ players forbidden from tweets
    • Instagram, facebook too

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has hinted that Super Eagles players will be restricted on their use of social media while on international duty following the face off between Sunday Oliseh and Vincent Enyeama last Tuesday.

    NFF supremo Amaju Pinnick made this known after a meeting in Belgium on Saturday with the main protagonists involved in the dispute.

    Lille numero uno Vincent Enyeama made headlines last week after he took to Instagram to express his disappointment on how he was mistreated by Sunday Oliseh.

    “No player launches his career through the social media. When players are at their clubs, they don’t broadcast camp situation on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, ” Pinnick said.

    “The same restraint and discipline must be observed in the national camp.”

    Enyeama won’t be the first Super Eagles player to take to a social networking site to voice his displeasure at team officials, with ex-West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie launching an attack on the NFF via Twitter after his omission from the 2013 African Cup of Nations roster.

  • Social media no match for print, says publisher

    The Publisher of Happenings, a new lifestyle magazine, Mr. Edirin Abamwa, has described the buzz around the death of print media in the face of Internet newspapers and magazines as a ruse.

    Abamwa, who uses all-colour and gloss format for his magazine, spoke during its unveiling at the Colonades Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    He said those who are expecting the fortune of the print media to rise should look for a way to synergise both the online and print media.

    “We found that print will not die. I, initially, thought that print will die when we started two years ago but at a point in the business, we discovered that it was not happening quickly. We also discovered that print has attraction. The two platforms should co-exist and to make any impact it should be mixed by media buyers and marketers. That’s why we started the print edition,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Happenings, which offers a rich blend of fashion, lifestyle and entertainment, also unveiled its second edition with the theme The truth issue.

    Abamwa said to appeal to both online and offline readers, the magazine started as an online via www.happenings.com.ng and started the print edition because of the need to satisfy and reach a wider range of our ardent readers.

    He also said Happenings would soon start her own online radio station – Happenings Online Radio – where he hoped to feed more listeners with entertainment, fashion and lifestyle bits.

    “We wish to appreciate the support of all our sponsors and guests who graced the occasion. Your generosity is absolutely amazing,” he added.

  • Airtel pushes for law against social media abuse

    Airtel Nigeria has made a case for a law to regulate the use of social media platforms.The mobile giant’s point is the country, arguing that such a regulation will not only deter the invasion of people’s privacy but deter people from making spurious allegations and posting such on the internet.

    The telco is seeking amendment to the relevant laws regarding libel, arguing that regulations will help prevent activities of perverts and other groups with ill intentions across the digital sphere.

    Its Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Segun Ogunsanya, however, advised business leaders to be innovative and deliberate in their use of technology, e-commerce and social media, stressing that an innovative approach in leveraging technology will help create real value for critical stakeholders of organisations and others along the value chain.

    Ogunsanya, who spoke at the 45th Annual Accountants’ Conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja, said Airtel has pioneered this approach with the roll-out of its Catapult-a-Start-up programme, a unique initiative designed to empower exceptional and innovative application developers in Nigeria.

    He noted that the programme has provided a good example of how a company can combine innovation with monetisaation, adding that, under the initiative, the telco has empowered and transformed many lives with groundbreaking mobile application services.

    According to Ogunsanya, these innovative digital platforms are helping to resolve many issues around diesel delivery, boosting students’ performance at important examinations, empowering job seekers, aiding e-commerce and cementing relationships, among others.

    Specifically, he listed mobile application services such as Yuzah, a real time delivery platform that allows the ordering of diesel in minutes; PassNG, an educational service that enables students prepare for important examinations and PushCV, a service equipped to prepare job seekers for opportunities.

    Other apps developed under the Airtel Catapult-a-Start-Up include advertising app, a mobile application that converts mobile phones to a highly efficient and effective advertising platform; MatchUp, a home grown social network that connects people, with strong focus on locality and users’ preferences; Alarm App, an app that alerts users in case of danger and Airtel insurance, a programme that offers middle and low-income earners the opportunity and access to life and hospital insurance.

    Ogunsanya, who spoke on Innovative business models: Leveraging technology, e-Commerce and social Media, however, urged circumspection in the use of social media.

     

     

  • ICPC set to put social media on watchlist, says Chairman

    ICPC set to put social media on watchlist, says Chairman

    On-line media practitioners and users of the social media platforms would now be on the radar of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission, ICPC, for checks against malicious petitions and mudslinging, the Chairman of ICPC  Barrister Ekpo Nta has said.

    He said ICPC is worried given the fact that the social media platforms are now awashed with malicious petitions and mudslinging that are largely motivated by selfish interests.

    Barrister Nta spoke with reporters in Abuja yesterday shortly after declaring opened the capacity building workshop organised by Anti-Corruption Academy for members of States Houses of Assembly from the North-Central geopolitical zone of the country.

    He said the ICPC Acts empowered the bodyto investigate, arrest and prosecute masterminds of malicious petitions and urged law-makers in the country to take up the responsibility of whistle blowers in the fight against corruption.

    His words: “ Everybody suppose to be a whistle blower under our Act, but I will like to warn at this junction that a lot of malicious petitions are also making the rounds, the people who are making these malicious petitions for their personal goods should also know that they are not protected by the law and that when we investigate and find them to be untrue and to be malicious , the ICPC Acts provide for prosecution, and we will definitely prosecute them.

    “If you look at social media platforms, they are awash now with all kinds of malicious petitions and mudslinging on the people, they should know they are not protected by the law.”

    He said the law-makers have critical roles to play in the fight against corruption and abuse of office, noting that the Anti-Corruption Academy had earlier organised capacity building workshops for members of the academic community from the Nation’s Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Universities.

    In his remarks, the Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy, Professor Sola Akinrinade described as unfavourable the public perception of happenings at the highest levels of government and administration in the country, saying it has become incumbent on all citizens to join in the crusade against corruption.

    “Legislators have direct responsibility to ensure that other arms of government and the public service embrace the values of probity, accountability, and integrity in public sector life,” he said.

    “Democracy is not about freedom to do anything you want right or wrong; it is about doing the right thing, the right way at all times,” he added.

    The Speaker of the Plateau state House of Assembly, Hon Peter Agang Azi said the workshop was timely as corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of the country’s socio-political and economic development.

    He assured that legislators in Plateau would key into the fight against corruption to enable the present administration implement programmes that would have direct and immediate impacts on the lives of the citizenry.

     

  • DSS cautions Jigawa youths on social media comments

    The Jigawa State office of the Department of State Security has expressed concern over the disruptive tendencies and threat to peace by political groups on the social media.

    This was disclosed by the state DSS director, Mr Yusuf Isiyaku in a speech at a one-day sensitisation seminar organised for social media groups across the state.

    The seminar held at Three Stars Hotel, Dutse.

    Isiyaku urged parents and guardians to monitor how their children use the social media with a view to guarding against moral decadence.

    The DSS director explained that  an independent investigation by the Channels Television indicated that the Jigawa State has more followers in the government activities in the federation, “but in our own analysis the followership is not progressive but destructive”.

    According to him, report from an independent body revealed that youths in Jigawa State have higher participation in political discussion on social media more than any other state in the country.

    The Director added that, according to his department’s assessment, the participation was more destructive than constructive, putting the state in bad light.

    “In view of this, we deem it necessary to come up with programmes to re-orient our youth on how to best use social media for their betterment and that of the state and country at large.

    “We invited traditional and religious leaders, legal practitioners, security agencies to enlight the representatives of youth group across all 27 local government of the state on proper usage of social media in tandem with religious norms and culture of the society”.

    Speaking at the occasion, Emir of Dutse Dr Nuhu Sunusi urged the youths to abide by the usage of decent words and respect to their leaders in any of their discussion or posting on the social media and other platforms.

  • 11 whack things to do on social media

    11 whack things to do on social media

    There is no denying the fact that Social media has come to stay with a truck load of advantages as well as disadvantages. The consciousness of these advantages and disadvantages should help us as social media users to maximise our activities on each platform without offending or endangering ourselves or others.

    Like some people say, “it is just social media”, and when you try to correct some others on the abuse of the social media, they say “is it not my own account?”

    The power the social media wield is unfathomable but many people do not understand that. Just as they can help us make new friends as well as reconnect with old ones, social media has the power to make or mar an individual depending on their activities.

    It has been observed that only a tiny click of social media users who are business conscious often mind their posts and contributions but those that are not do the following whack things which you should not be found doing.

    Click on the start button below to see them.

  • I am active only on Instagram – Enyeama

    I am active only on Instagram – Enyeama

     

    Vincent Enyeama has denied owning any other social media account.

    He did this on Monday evening via his Instagram handle (vinny2908) after being notified of such phony accounts.

    He claimed to be recently aware of accounts created in his name and used for extortion and informed that he was not active on any other social media except Instagram.

    “It just got to my notice that people are using my name on Facebook and other social media sites to make promises or extort money from people. I am not active on any other social media network except here on Instagram”.

    He also advised his fans to be careful of whom they interact with on social media.

  • Lagos Deputy Governor denies social media financial appeal

    Lagos Deputy Governor denies social media financial appeal

    Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule last night alerted the public that some unscrupulous elements have been using her image on the social media (facebook) to dupe innocent members of the public.

    She urged the public and her associates to be wary of such cyber fraudsters so as not to fall victim of “this ungodly practice in her name.”

    One of such acts recently linked her with a deceptive ’Federal Government Empowerment Loan Scheme’ which was reported to be advertised on facebook account, using the details of the deputy governor.

    The Deputy Governor urged Nigerians to disregard any form of financial appeal via social media and advised members of the public who may come across such fraudulent messages to report the account or the site to the appropriate law enforcement agencies to ensure that those behind such notorious act are brought to book.

    She, however, suspended all her social media activities to stop the individuals from their fraudulent activities.

     

  • Good, bad, ugly sides of social media platforms

    Good, bad, ugly sides of social media platforms

    The rise of the internet has redefined how man carries out his daily activities. It has broken down the fetters erected by distance and converted the world into a global village. But, by far the most defining moment in the internet age is the boom in social media platforms. Marriages have been consummated through this platform; life-changing jobs secured and many have lost life savings to scammers. Even unlucky ones have lost their lives, LUCAS AJANAKU reports. 

    He was an unemployed engineer based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. Since he has done all he needed to do by studying hard in the university to make a good grade, he kept faith and believed that one day God will open doors for him.

    A neighbour drew his attention to LinkedIn, one of the about a 100 social media platforms that have sprung out in response to popular demands of a growing youthful global population. LinkedIn, he was told by his ‘good neighbour’ is a professional platform where practitioners in different spheres of human endeavours meet and exchange ideas. He promptly signed onto it and he started building his network of professional friends.

    A job opening opened up elsewhere and one of his professional friends on LinkedIn asked him to apply online and he did. Just like a scene from a movie, he was invited to Lagos for an interview. He did well and was given the job with a multi-national company in the country. He was given a car and accommodation by his employers.

    Mr. Collins Olawale (not real name) relocated to the United States (U.S) about a decade ago in search of a greener pasture. He needed a life partner preferably from his Ilesha, Osun State stock. He signed onto Fecbook, placed his picture and started receiving and placing invites for friendship from prospective friends.

    He met a lady on the platform and after a round of e-dating that spanned three months, he flew into Nigeria, went to Ilesha for the traditional wedding; returned to Lagos and headed to the popular Ikoyi Registry where they signed the dotted lines in their marriage certificate.

    These are but just a few good stories that have come from social media platforms. There are others, ranging from extending financial assistance to ‘needy friends’ and providing offshore accommodation to friends on transit.

    However, the rise of social media has created a “goldmine” for online scammers who are searching dating sites and social media platforms to identify victims and troll endlessly for their personal information, a new report by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shown.

    Government’s Internet Crime Complaints Centre or ICE said in its annual report that complaints about scammers using social media to perpetrate frauds are on the rise with online dating fraud the most common, according to a report by New York Daily News.

    Overall, online scams reported to government cost America $800million last year alone, according to IC3. But that is only a fraction of the real cost, says IC3 which puts the real figure in the neighbourhood of $3.5billion.

    Victims on online dating fraud are conned out of more than $14,000 on the average with many perpetrators posing as military personnel pretending to look for that special someone. Women, especially those over 40 years of age were more likely to be swindled.

    ICE report says: “Criminals search dating websites, chat rooms and social media websites for personally identifiable information and use well-rehearsed scripts to attract potential victims.

    “Victims of these scams believe they are in a relationship with someone who is honest and trust worthy without meeting them in person.”

    Criminals can easily gain access to peoples’ personal information by setting up spam links for them, to ‘like’ or share online; clicking on the links unknown to them, installs viruses and other malware on their computers.

    IC3 also said the rise of internet currencies such as Britcoin have increased the menace as cybercrimes have doubled  since 2013.

    Other common scams include auction fraud and credit card fraud, impersonation emails (such as the notorious “Nigerian letter”), non-romantic confidence scams and identity theft.

    So many people are in jail across the world because of crimes committed using social media platforms as their operational base.  Christian Nnadike, 34, and Collins Deke, 37, were found guilty by a Vietnamese court for operating a fraud syndicate which specialises in hacking in the email of companies and posing as their foreign partners so as to swindle them. The group were also said to have used the social media platform, Facebook to defraud many unsuspecting victims.

    They were thus sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Vietnamese court.

    His Vietnamese wife, Kim who was also implicated as a member of the syndicate, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

    Kim and her Nigerian husband were accused of spearheading the hack syndicate which gained illegal access to the emails of several Vietnamese companies doing business with foreign companies.

    A 21-year-old boy was recently arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defrauding a Briton in an internet love scam.

    Identified only as Obiechina, he allegedly swindled Kieran Oakes of the sum of 54,000euros (approximately N16.3million) after a social media romance.

    EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, explained in a statement that Obiechina started an affair with Oakes after they met on Facebook in 2013.

    He fooled the woman by claiming to be an American businessman Lisa Jackson and began to take money from her under the pretext of coming over to the United Kingdom (UK) to see her.

    ‘Jackson’ promised to marry his unsuspecting victim and was able to fleece her of a total sum of 54,000 euros before she realised she was being scammed. Oakes petitioned the EFCC after her ‘lover’ failed to show up despite sending money to him.

    Uwujaren said the scammer was arrested in a sting operation and would be charged to court soon.

    The case of Cynthia Osukogu made headlines about four years ago. She was allegedly lured into Lagos by her Facebook friend, drugged, abused, robbed and subsequently tethered to  the bed in her captors’ hotel room at Cosmilla Hotel, Festac Town, Lagos and left to die.

     

    What you gain giving up social networking

     

    Many people have become so addicted to social networking that they feel life will end when they give up visiting the sites. It has been discovered that visiting sites such as Google+, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, MyLife, hi5 and others, take up so much time.

    Life does not end when people give up social networking sites. Instead, life actually improves for the better without social networks. According to thoughtcatalog.com life improves when people give up social networking sites because people will concentrate on their own life rather than on other peoples’ lives.

    When you are not constantly looking at other people’s lives and achievements, you can concentrate on your own and take pleasure in your own achievements rather than constantly worrying about keeping up with others.

    When you stay away from social networking sites, you interact with the real world more far away from illusion.   When you do not have to keep checking your mobile telephone to see what is going on in the digital world, you actually have to talk to people in the real world. When you actually discuss with people, you learn far more than you do from the inconsequential stuff that people post on social networking sites. You also make real friends rather than acquaintances friends.

    When you keep off, you no longer have to worry whether people are re-tweeting your tweets or ‘liking’ your Facebook page neither do you have to interact with people you do not like.

    Thoughtcatalog.com argues that just because you went to school with people, it does not mean that you have anything at all in common with them now. Indeed you may have grown into such different person, that you do not actually like the person that they have now become.

    Again, you safe yourself the hassles of being cyber-stalked neither would you need to be irritated by those who insist on telling the most banal or private details of their day on social networking sites. You will equally safe your sights of those goofy nude pictures people post on these sites. Really would you stand outside the Town Hall and announce to all and sundry some of the things that people say on social networking sites.

    You will get more time to attend to your work because of the distractions that go with each alert of some useless postings on social networking sites, especially Facebook.

    Looking at your social networking feed takes up more time than you think it does. When you stop doing it you will get so much more done both at work and in other areas of your life endeavours.

    You will actually have a life to call your own. When you no longer allow social networking sites to rule your life, you might have a life–one in which you are actually thinking about something more than who has posted some stupid mundane update. You will have the time to actually talk to and listen to others. You might actually live life actively rather than waiting passively for life to come to you via a social networking site.

    Also of importance is the impact of these sites on marriages. Some couples are always at loggerheads because one of them will so often lock himself/herself up in the washroom, opening messages, downloading pictures and responding to latest posts on some of these sites, especially WhatsApp an instant message platform.

    But to stay safe online, IC3 warns users not to respond to unsolicited emails, phone calls or snail mail requesting personal details; not to click links in emails and to regularly check their bank accounts to watch for fraud activity.

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