Telecom
NCC Spreads Digital Dividends to Varsities, Others via ADAPTI, DAP
AS part of its deliberate digital inclusion policy to address digital divides across a broad spectrum of the society generally and the school system in particular, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently took digital dividends to some institutions of higher learning in the country.
These schools included Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Benin, Government Junior Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja, Katsina State College, Katsina, Government Secondary School Dan Musa, Katsina State, among others.
The NCC acknowledged the gap in ICT services early enough and opted to cushion these needs by taking services, equipment and infrastructure to these centres of learning.
The Commission through the Advanced Digital Awareness Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI) has been able to empower several of these higher institutions by donating digital centres, computer laboratories fitted with laptops and internet connectivity, generating sets as part of the digital dividends.
While secondary schools benefit through the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP). DAP ensures that teachers are empowered first to pass knowledge to the students.
DAP promotes hands-on digital empowerment by creating an environment where students have direct knowledge of usage of computers and ICTs in support of their studies.
Dr. Eugene Juwah, executive viice chairman (EVC) explained that this is one of the ways we can reach the unreached and serve the unserved and underserved members of the society.
Juwah further assured that many more institutions and schools will be covered especially now that the broadband revolution has begun. “Broadband will make a world of difference”.
Mr. Tony Ojobo, director, Public Affairs, in a statement explained that to continue the distribution of digital knowledge, and awareness in schools and support students in acquiring knowledge of computer in their studies, the Commission donated ICT/Telecommunications books to Ekiti State University, recently.
Juwah specifically said the Commission wants to put smiles on the faces of students and the school system.
The EVC who was represented by Ms. Josephine Amuwa (Director, Policy Competition and Economic Analysis), stated in Ekiti that one of the core functions of the NCC is the implementation of programmes and plans that promote the development of the communications industry and in order to achieve this, the NCC has implemented several capacity building initiatives to enhance the knowledge base of the participants in the telecoms industry in Nigeria.
Some of these initiatives include the establishment of the Digital Bridge Institute in 2004 in order to contribute to the creation of knowledge-based information society in Africa, through human resource capacity building in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
The EVC stated that the Commission in 2005 also established the NCC library for use of researchers and undergraduate students from various tertiary institutions across the country.
He further explained that higher institutions in Ekiti State, which fall within South West geo-political zone, have not benefitted from the National Books Donation Initiative of the Commission since inception of the project which is carried out in phases, Hence the need to begin from the Ekiti State University.
Eighty Seven ICT/Telecom engineering books on behalf of the EVC were donated by Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, commissioner of NCC, and received by Prof. Oladipo Aina, Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University.
The Vice Chancellor thanked the Commission for contributing ICT/ Telecommunications books to the University which will impact and add value to the lives of the students.
The Commission has also taken the ADAPTI project to The Polytechnic, Ibadan Oyo State, where 110 laptops were commissioned.
The Advanced Digital Awareness programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI) is one of the programmes through which the NCC strives to bridge the digital divide through the provision of computers in order to equip lecturers and also to improve the skills of students.
The EVC who was represented by the NCC zonal coordinator in Ibadan, Mr. Banji Ojo in his speech stated that The Polytechnic, Ibadan was among the 52 beneficiaries of the ADAPTI project of the Commission in 2013, and that more than 222 institutions of higher learning across the country have so far benefitted from ADAPTI since it began in 2008.
Speaking at the event, Juwah stated that the key objectives of these programmes are to prepare the nation for a digital tomorrow and equip the youth with the necessary skills to tap into the potentials of the digital age and in the case of ADAPTI, it is aimed at improving the resource persons in the process of impacting knowledge. The EVC further explained that the Commission is committed to assisting the nation in the quest for ICT penetration through ADAPTI.
Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, chairman of the House Committee on Communications, urged the students to take advantage of the computers, which were commissioned, advising that the laptops are for the use of lecturers to improve their administrative skills.
He also advised the students of The Polytechnic to stay away from crimes such as cybercrime and focus on their education in order to contribute to the nation’s wellbeing.
The Digital Awareness Program (DAP) is a special intervention programme by the Commission to address the digital information knowledge gap in the country especially among the teeming youthful population.
The strategy in this programme is to expose schools and colleges to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) awareness, usage and application by facilitating access to ICT tools.
Under the project, selected institutions of learning spread across the country are equipped with computer laboratories fully installed with internet facilities and their teachers exposed to ICT training in order to equip them to teach their students, Ojobo further explained in the statement.
By the last count, the DAP Project has supported 229 secondary Schools across the six (6) geopolitical zones of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory with the provision of twenty one (21) desktop computers, Local Area Network, printers, scanners, VSAT dish and deployment of one year bandwidth subscription for Internet access.
These facilities are complemented with standby generators and a special accommodation built for that purpose; thus aggregating everything into a fully kitted Computer Laboratory.
The programme also entails human capacity building and managerial training for key personnel in charge of the Centres from the beneficiary institutions.
As part of the Commission’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to facilitate ICT Awareness in secondary schools and support students in acquiring knowledge of computer in their studies, the Commission commissioned two projects in Katsina state recently.
One of the beneficiaries is Government Secondary School, Dan Musa, Katsina State
A newly constructed computer laboratory with 20 Desktop computers with internet access, Generator Set, Air conditioners, NCC branded window blinds, was commissioned at the school.
Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema, executive governor of Katsina State, was represented by Alhaji Suleiman Nuhu Kuki, special adviser (Science and Tech) at the event.
The projects were facilitated by Alhaji Jamilu Mohammed Dan Musa, a former commissioner of Water Resources in the State. So many stakeholder graced the occasion.
Katsina College, Katsina State also benefitted
A new constructed Computer Laboratory, 20 Desktop Computers with internet access, Generator Set, Air-conditioners, NCC branded window blinds were commissioned at Katsina College, Katsina, a prestigious institution and an Alma Mata of so many prominent Nigerians.
In Imo State a constructed computer laboratory, installed generator, air conditioners and branded window blinds at Omuma Secondary Technical School in Oru East LGA was one of the DAP projects while ADAPTI projects with 110 laptops were supplied and installed at each of the following locations:
.Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo
. Skills Acquisition Centre, Orlu (a campus of Imo State Polytechnic)
.St. Damian School of Nursing, Okporo
.Federal Polytechnic Nekede
These are some of the initiatives by the Commission to spread digital awareness through digital inclusion, Ojobo added.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has temporarily suspended the issuance of new licenses in some categories.
The commission said the categories included interconnect exchange license, mobile virtual network operator license and value added service aggregator license.
Reuben Mouka, director of Public Affairs, NCC, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said the commission acted in line with its powers under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.
“This temporary suspension is necessary to enable the commission to conduct a thorough review of several key areas within these categories, including the current level of competition, market saturation and current market dynamics.
“The public is invited to note that during the suspension period commencing on May 17, new application for the aforementioned licenses will not be accepted.
“This is without prejudice to pending applications before the commission will be considered on their merits.
“Any enquiry or clarification in respect of this suspension notice should be forwarded to: [email protected],” NCC said.
The vulnerability of East Africa’s countries was starkly revealed once again in the aftermath of the damage inflicted upon an undersea cable, leading to widespread internet outages across the region.
According to Business Day Africa, this incident marks the third cable cut this year, plunging millions of users in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda into a state of connectivity limbo.
The disruption caused by the severance of two vital submarine cables- the East Africa Submarine System (EASSy) and Seacom, resulted in significant delays in internet access, so much so that operations at the US embassy in Dar es Salaam had to be suspended.
EASSy spans a staggering 10,000 kilometres along the eastern coast of Africa, boasting nine landing stations strategically positioned in Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa.
Tanzania bore the brunt of the outage, experiencing the most severe disruptions, as evidenced by data from the Internet Outage Tracker, compelling the embassy to halt its services for a period of two days.
This latest incident follows a series of challenges earlier this year when connectivity in East Africa was hampered by damage sustained by three submarine cables traversing the Red Sea.
Internet users in East Africa have been grappling with intermittent connections since Sunday, May 12, 2024.
The International Cable Protection Committee attributes the damage to a probable encounter with the anchor of a cargo ship, allegedly targeted by the Yemen-based Houthi rebel group.
However, repair efforts have been impeded by ongoing tensions surrounding access rights to the affected waters.
Commenting on the situation, Bright Simons, research lead at the IMANI Center for Policy and Education in Ghana, lamented the lack of a comprehensive regional framework for telecom emergencies in East Africa, according to SemaFor news.
He noted that despite the region’s advanced regional integration initiatives, similar to those seen in the Southern African Customs Union and Francophone units, the absence of such mechanisms has left operators scrambling to establish ad hoc cross-border arrangements.
Omoniyi Ibietan, Head Media Relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission, fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and African Public Relations Association (APRA), has just been elected the Secretary-General of APRA at the ongoing 35th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Ibietan has promised to work with other members of the Executive Council to continue the trajectory of reforms in APRA, expand the democratic space by encouraging greater participation of national public relations institutions on the Continent and work more closely with the African Union Commission and Council of Ministers to put public relations at the heart of policy, programmes, and project implementation. Ibietan was elected into a three-man Executive Council. The other two members are Arik Karani (Kenya), President, and Dr. Michele Mekeme (Cameroon), Vice President.
OMONIYI P. IBIETAN is a journalist, writer, and author. As Head of Media Relations Management at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), where he oversees aspects of the public communication strategy of the national regulatory authority for telecommunication in Nigeria. Earlier in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, he was Special Media Advisor to the Federal Minister of Information and Communication.
He has over 20 years of experience in media and communication scholarship and practice, spanning journalism, academia, policy discourse, communication strategy, regulation, and stakeholder relations.
He earned BA and MA in Communication Arts and Communication & Language Arts from the Universities of Uyo and Ibadan in Nigeria, respectively, graduating atop his classes. Earlier, he obtained a diploma in journalism with distinction from the Moscow-Based International Institute of Journalism.
He holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the North-West University in South Africa, with specialisation in political communication. He is a IP3 certified regulation specialist and holds a mini MBA in telecommunications from NEOTELIS in Paris.
He is also a member of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), an Associate Registered Practitioner of Advertising (arpa) and member of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), the world’s only policy debating platform for the converged communications industry.
As a scholar, he focuses on patterns of political communication through new media; media and culture studies; and theoretical & normative foundations of communication in relation to democracy and freedom. He is on the faculty of the Nigerian campus of Italy-based Rome Business School (RBS), where he teaches doctoral students PR & Advertising and Media Management & Communication Strategy. He also facilitates learning to students in the Master of Corporate Communication programme at RBS.
His first book, SOCIAL MEDIA, SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY, AND VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA, was published by Premium Times Books in Washington in May 2023.
He has travelled extensively in Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia.
He is married, has children, plays tennis and scrabble, loves reading and writing, and loves meeting people, especially people from other cultures.
At the ongoing conference, Ibietan presented the first paper at the commencement of business sessions. The title of his paper is DIGITAL INCLUSION AS ARBITER OF ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RELATIONS: A CASE OF NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.
Using Castells’ Theory of the Network Society and the Knowledge Gap Theory and based on the actions of the Nigerian government through the activities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ibietan advanced a thesis that digital inclusion is the arbiter of digital public relations.
Through implementation of laws, policies, guidelines, developmental regulation, collaborative partnerships, social investments, operational efficiency and ancillary actions that are consequential and quantifiable, and using copious pictorial evidence, Omoniyi discoursed a perspective that NCC’s digital inclusion programmes, projects and activities are foundational to digital economy because investment in and coordination of expansion of digital infrastructure, demonstrating their affordances and enhancing people’s access to such resources, constitute the building blocks and raison d’être of digital economy and inherently digital public relations.
APRA, the successor to the Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA), instituted in Nairobi in 1975, exists to foster unity of Africans and their global allies through interactions and exchange of meaning. Pivoted on standardisation of public relations practice and scholarship on the Continent to enhance its relevance to the African reality, APRA member states and individuals meet annually at a location in any of its regional centres (East, North, South, West, Central, Indian Ocean Islands, and Francophone) to have a conversation with a thematic focus on any of its key intervention areas (Health & Education, Economic Integration, Good Governance, Tourusm & Leisure, and Infrastructure Development). This year’s theme is ‘ONE AFRICA, ONE VOICE: BRIDGING AFRICA’S COMMUNICATION DIVIDE’.
APRA Côte d’Ivoire 2024 is endorsed by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, the Holding Opinion & Public (THOP), and major global PR associations, namely the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), The International Communications
Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and PR national associations across the continent.
Additionally, the conference featured the eighth edition of the Innovation Summit (IN2SUMMIT) and includes the seventh edition of the SABRE Awards Africa, holding tonight.
The APRA secretariat is in Nigeria, and the body maintains an observer status with the African Union.
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