Technology

By Lawan Bukar Maigana

I keep telling people that it is too early for us in Nigeria as a whole to adopt a cashless policy. It is just obviously too early. Yesterday, I read a post by Prof. Abdelghaffar Amoka of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in Kaduna State, about his experience with a Point of Sale, PoS, agent.

He had gone to refill his gas cylinders at the cost of 19k+ and he used a PoS machine to pay for it. Though he was debited, the money wasn’t credited to the PoS agent’s account. Rather than waste his time there, he transferred another money to someone’s account to pay for refilling. He would have become helpless if he was moneyless.

Some weeks back, I experienced a similar thing in Abuja. I went to withdraw 5k using a PoS from a woman at the NYSC parade ground. I was debited but she didn’t receive the money. She then told me that she won’t give me the money until she receives an alert. Luckily, I had a paltry sum left in my account. I then withdrew the money using a different PoS. It took my bank nearly ten days to refund me.

Before then, and about three years ago, I had the same experience with UBA. I used my father’s card to withdraw N100,000. I tried six times, but all of the transactions didn’t dispense cash, and he was debited five times. My dad only knew it after a week. He complained to the bank but they denied it, without carefully checking whether the transactions were successful or not.

They had to call me to come from school. I quickly got to the bank because it involved my father. I had to help them understand that the transactions failed. Only then they rechecked and discovered that I was right. That was indeed an issue bordering on unprofessionalism.

If not because of my father I would have sued the bank, because they threatened me with a police arrest, saying it was a criminal case. My father asked me to accept their apology else I would have sought compensation for making me look like a criminal, while they were at fault.

Before going ahead with its cashless policy, another factual and excusable factor the Apex Bank should consider is the fact that most of our businesses are done in cash, especially those trading in rural communities and towns and other remote areas where there are no banks, no network, no internet, no electricity, no education, and these people form a large portion of the Nigerian populace.

The questions I keep asking myself regarding this policy are: Did the Central Bank of Nigeria build banks in those areas? Would the people be traveling from their various villages to cities to transfer, withdraw or deposit money? What did the government do in place of these challenges? Does CBN have enough manpower to do this job even if they have built banks? Did CBN mistake Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and a few cities for Nigeria?

These, among other reasons, are the factors I want the CBN Governor to consider. Before they present this policy, they need to put all these things in place and educate people about it so that people will evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and decide to either oppose or support it. The CBN didn’t do that. It just woke up from its slumber and served it to the Nigerians a la carte. Time will however tell if Nigerians will embrace it, warts and all.

Lawan Bukar Maigana is a social analyst. He writes from Abuja and can be reached via email: lawanbukarmaigana@gmail.com

By Muhammad Auwal

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved, with immediate effect, the appointment of Engineer Tukur Mohammed Lawal Funtua, as the new Managing Director of Nigeria Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), following the retirement of the erstwhile Managing Director, Dr Abimbola Alale, after two terms of 10 years in office.

Engineer Tukur Mohammed Lawal Funtua, an indigene of Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria, was born on 24th November 1966.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, PGDM, MBA, a Professional Diploma in Education and a PhD in Environmental and Sustainable Development Management in view, at the University of Port Harcourt.

He was, before his appointment, Director, health community affairs, safety and environment with BUA Cement Plc, and served in various capacities, including Health and Safety Manager, Country HSE Manager and Regional Manager for Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development at Lafarge Africa Plc and Group Head, Environment and Community Affairs at  Dangote Cement Plc among others.

Engineer Tukur, who has thirty years of professional experience in manufacturing, process engineering, health, production, safety and environmental management, communications and various other fields, is a Chartered Environmentalist at the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, and the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute.

He is a Registered Engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), a member of numerous professional bodies and institutes.

By Engr. Mustapha Habu Ringim

Despite all his official commitments, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami’s internationally recognised contributions to the field of both Digital Economy and Islamic knowledge are unprecedentedly breaking colossal barriers to socioeconomic development in Nigeria and Africa at large. We are grateful to The Almighty Allah, Who has bestowed our society with such a rear gem.

The Islamic scholar and professor of cyber security, Sheik Pantami, is leaving, to some extent, a tripartite legacy for our future leaders to emulate. He is equally fostering a paradigm shift in his professional career and public office as a Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. He is an epitome of a role model, a philosopher with a positive legacy which will serve as a footprint or a sailable path for all potential leaders, academics and religious scholars to tread on.

However, Malam Pantami is building this astounding path against all criticisms from some of his academic colleagues and Islamic and Christian scholars. He patiently stands tall on his two feet. He forges ahead against all social media hypes, just like the flow of rivers, as “rivers never go reverse” – they gradually clear their paths to their destinations, entrenching a memorable route for explorers and navigators to follow passively.

Long before writing his essential book Skills Rather than just Degrees, his advocacy out of which the book was written, has already transformed so many lives, including myself and thousands of graduates of our innovation hub, through the effective programs and seminars conducted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) under the excellent leadership of its Director General, a “Digital Transformer”, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE.

Prof. Muhammad Bugaje, the current Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), is another advocate of the same subject. However, his slogan, “Skills but not Degrees”, is a bit tougher. Therefore, I sincerely urge these two erudite professors to actualise an inter-ministerial or agency collaboration between NITDA and NBTE to develop a realistic action plan and strategic roadmap for entrenching ubiquitous skill capital development in our society. 

The National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) would equally play an essential role in the proposed collaboration. Such agencies are supposed to be under the same umbrella, the way it is done in Morocco, which as a result of their effective work-based learning, has achieved one of the highest economic growth among African countries, as pronounced by the European Training Foundation.

ENGAUSA GLOBAL TECH HUB, publicly recognised as “technical skills enthusiasts”, will formally seek permission from His Excellency Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami to translate the book into the Hausa language. The translation will help fit it into the bilingual-based curriculum of ENGAUSA APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. That opportunity would also pave the way for using the translated version in our public awareness programs on Radio, TV and social media. This book succinctly corroborates the mission and objectives of ENGAUSA HUB, as it goes with our motto, “Breaking Barriers and Bridging Gaps”.

Engr. Mustapha Habu Ringim is the founder/CEO of EngausaHub.com.

By
Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has imposed N2 million sanction on Arise TV for broadcasting fake news.

NBC Director-General, Balarabe Shehu Helah, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

The Director-General described the action of Arise TV as an unfortunate breach of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, grossly unprofessional and insensitive.

“This is the most unfortunate breach of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and gross display of unprofessionalism and insensitivity by your organization at this time of electioneering,” he said.

The Director-General argued that Nigeria’s extant laws on broadcasting clearly prohibited fake news. He added that the NBC has taken its time to enlighten broadcasters on the provisions of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and the Electoral Act as the 2023 General election approaches.

Consequent of the breach, the NBC sanctioned Arise TV and requested they pay the sum of N2 million naira with two weeks.

“Consequently, pursuant to Section 5.1. 3 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, Arise TV is hereby sanctioned and shall pay a penalty of 2, 000, 000.00 ( Two Million Naira only) Note that the penalty shall be paid within two weeks of the receipt of this letter or sanction shall be graduated,” the statement reads.

Arise TV maliciously reported that the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmad Tinubu is under investigation by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of alleged forfeiture in a US Court. Arise TV had admitted their guilt and apologized to the party and person involved.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A communication expert, Aisar Fagge, said the quest to keep up with breaking news has led to a high degree of error in online media reporting today.

Fagge, a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, said the failure was due to the less or absence of proofreading and confirmation of facts by the editors.

He said this on Sunday when speaking on the “Fake News on Nigerian Cyber Space: The Role of an Ideal Journalist” at a One-Day Workshop for Early-Career Journalists on Reporting Northern Nigeria, Fake News and Journalism Ethics.

At the event organised by the management team of The Daily Reality Newspaper that took place in Bayero University, Kano, Fagge said the absence of or weak gate-keepers contributed to the lack of quality journalism in Nigerian cyberspace.

He also attributed the high degree of error in today’s online news reporting to poor staffing, which leads to the single-handed operation of the media.

He said, “Almost everyone wants to establish an online newspaper. A single person wants to be a publisher, a reporter and an editor all by himself. No doubt, the standard of journalism falls.”

The event had in attendance many communication experts and journalists from within and outside Kano state, including some that joined the workshop via Zoom from overseas.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter and former CEO, has introduced a brand-new social networking platform called “Bluesky.”

This is only a week or so after business tycoon and investor Elon Musk bought Twitter.

Within two days of the announcement, over 30,000 individuals had already signed up for the new app’s beta testing, which is still in its testing phase.

According to reports, Bluesky allows designers the opportunity to build independently from platforms and developers while also giving users authority over their algorithms, allowing them to choose the experience they want.

On April 14, 2022, Musk started the acquisition of Twitter and completed the deal on October 27, 2022.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced new improvements and features to the messaging app WhatsApp. 

Mr Zuckerberg made the announcement in a Facebook post on Thursday. 

According to him, Meta has launched Communities on WhatsApp. 

He further explained that the Communities make groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels and more. 

He also said WhatsApp is rolling out polls and 32-person video calling.

He said: “Today we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp. It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more. We’re also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption, so your messages stay private.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) advised the general public to be more security conscious in protecting their personal and financial information. 

EFCC said fraudsters use peoples’ personal and financial information like ATM cards, PINs, BVN, NIN and mobile phones to steal money. 

Aliyu Yunusa, the Sokoto zonal head of the agency, made this disclosure while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday.

Yunusa spoke about the increase in ATM-related fraud in Sokoto and identified two major methods for perpetrating such fraud.

The first method, he said, was “ATM Swap which usually occurs when unsuspecting victims visit the ATM machine or POS terminals where the scammers lurk around looking for prospective victims that may require their help in using the ATM.

“The suspects usually offer to help the victims in operating the ATM and, in the process, swap the card with a dormant ATM card from the same bank.

“After swapping the victim’s card and memorizing his/her pin, the fraudster will simply shrug it off as a temporary network issue and return the already swapped card to the victim while he walks away with the victim’s ATM card.

“The same fraudster will visit another ATM stand at a later time to comfortably withdraw all the money in the victim’s account or transfer all the savings of the victim to another account,” he said

The second method, according to him, was “Mobile Phone Theft”.

“In this instance, the stolen mobile phone is usually sold to fraudsters who will, in turn, use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, popularly known as USSD, to get your bank details from a simple code.

“It helps them know where your bank account is domiciled, but to the novice fraudster, he may try every bank’s USSD code until he becomes successful.

“Then use your banks USSID code. They will transfer the content of your account to another bank account, usually of a victim whose card and pin are in their possession,” he said.

Yunusa then advised individuals whose phones were stolen to rush to the nearest branch of their banks to block their accounts.

By Muhammad Sabi’u and Uzair Adam Imam

The Nigerian Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy honoured the famous Nigerian technology training firm Engausa Tech Hub with an award of excellence as the “best trainer” among partners of the National Information Technology Development Agency in the country.  

The ministry disclosed this on Wednesday in a post shared on its official Facebook handle, adding that the award was pronounced at the Digital Nigeria conference of 2022.

The firm has established a name in the area of training youths in modern digital skills, primarily in Hausa and English and continues to record remarkable successes. 

The founder and chairman of the tech hub, Engineer Mustapha Habu Ringim, said the firm recently trained over 2000 young people in different skills, including digital skills, entrepreneurship, guidance and many more.

Ringim added that the graduates trained in various science and technology skills included the university lecturers, students, and Almajiri, who never attended any formal school. 

‘We teach in Hausa to break barriers English brings about in our education system’ – CEO 

The Engausa Global Technology Hub believes that knowledge can best be taught in a mother tongue (Hausa) to break the barriers impeded by the English language. 

In a statement he made available to journalists some weeks ago, Engineer Ringim said the technology hub had also launched a library to enhance reading among youths.

He said the effort was to enhance lifetime reading culture among youths, adding that the Maisuga Ringim Library has provided both hard and soft copies of reading materials for the apprentice of the technology hub. 

With its motto, ‘breaking barriers and bridging gaps’, the firm aims to entrench inclusive technical skills acquisition and entrepreneurial skills among the teaming youths against all language barriers and technical gaps bedevilling human capital development at the grassroots.

Engausa was founded in 2019 and registered in 2022 by Engineer Mustapha Habu Ringim. 

By Muhammadu Sabiu

WhatsApp, a messaging platform, has been inaccessible to millions of users globally. As a result, thousands of users have reported being unable to send or receive messages.

The Daily Reality understands that since 8:30 am, 12,000 faults have been reported. The estimated number of affected users is substantially large.

Although messages are not delivered, users can still launch the application and read previous conversations.