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What If Tsunami Buhari ‘Swallows’ Shittu

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Mr. Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications
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Our Christian brethren are ‘merrying’, and in a few days time, year 2016 and its attendant brouhaha will wind down, giving way for fresh impetuses, aspirations and gazes on new horizons. As expected, there will be hang/hand over between the outgoing year and 2017.

However, I am particular about having a more enthused and verile Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry that is not resting on its past glories.

Among many expectations, it seems President Muhammadu Buhari will align with supposed popular thinking that his cabinet should be reshuffled. That is where I beg we cull the subject of today’s piece.

Vanguard Newspaper on Monday, December 19, 2016 on its Facebook wall conducted a brief survey, asking Nigerians to list ten Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria they believe should lose their seats should Mr. President decide to reshuffle his cabinet in the coming year. Going through the posts our industry’s, (Information) Communications (Technology) Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu appears to be ‘in safe’ hands as his name was missing. But, what if PMB’s ‘Broom-Tsunami’ still sweeps away the Minister, who recently fought some witty battles such as struggling to push the idea that the proposed communications tax is one of the best strategies to overcoming the present economic realities – a point of view many Nigerians including yours truly have refused to buy. So, what if the President decides to relieve Shittu of his post or move him to another ministry, how should the industry then proceed?

Obviously, something is still lacking in our polity- where a successor finds it difficult to build on the foundation developed by the predecessor. In other words, whoever takes over the mantle would start ‘all-over’, searching for stakeholders to submit documents and help in drafting ‘new policies; by then Shittu’s ‘brilliant’ ideas and policy thrust would have been archived and not really/fully gazette(d) like that of his predecessor Dr. Omobola Johnson, the erstwhile Minister of Communications Technology.

The losers are not the politicians who find it not too odd to stir controversies that will rattle new ‘office’ occupants. By then, they stay aloof, enjoying their ‘game’. Therefore, the losers are the organized private sector who need to rewind the rat-race of paying homage, redrafting memos with attached costs; all to please a new chip off of the old block’.

But, even when the new appointee genuinely seeks for advice, he ends up harvesting half-baked and gibberish contents that compound issues or standing the truth on the head.

Nevertheless, Barrister Shittu might still survive the cabinet reshuffle, thereby retaining his post. Whatever happens we still need to talk about the various issues affecting the industry. There are a lot of things happening in the industry that require stakeholders to converge at a round table with policy makers in search of solutions. First the telecommunications companies are bleeding. How they performed the magic of ensuring the Christmas season wasn’t marred by poor quality of service (QoS) calls for commendation.

Apparently, the operators are not expanding, at least, not at the expected speed, particularly since the time dollar scarcity hit the economy. If airlines, banks, manufacturing and agricultural sectors are receiving Government’s special attention, I think the IT & telecoms industry deserves that or at the very least have good policies to stimulate and protect this all-important industry. It is a big business enabler; providing required blood that flow in the veins of almost every other sector.

My guest on this week’s edition of Tech Trends on Channels Television is the GMD of IPNX, Ejovi Aror, and I asked him a few questions about the industry in general and found some of his responses quite intriguing. For him, the industry still needs a lot of investments to grow, espcially to effectively advance in the area of 4G LTE but the required investments won’t come, if there is uncertainty in the economy. One take away from my chat with him is that the industry has a lot of potentials but also has serious challenges. This is why I am of the opinion that players and enthusiasts must keep brainstorming on the way forward. You may see the full interview by visiting http://www.CFA.ng/tv

On the flip side, it was recently reported that about 80% of the Value Added Service (VAS) licencees operating today are near extinction. The culprits are the telcos who have not been able to fulfil their obligations to these service providers. So, should we fold our hands and allow these companies collapse; a situation that will warrant FDIs and jobs losses? Why are the telcos not servicing their creditors, in this case, the VAS operators?

Now you see my point, there is certainly a lot to talk about, this is why ‘Think Breakfast Series (tBs)’ has been established and it comes up on 25th of January, 2017 by 8am at the Prime Chinese Restaurant, Plot 860 Bishop Aboyade Cole Street Victoria Island, Lagos.

tBs is a strategic initiative put together by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek and CFAtech.ng which is aimed at bringing industry experts together to brainstorm and discuss the biggest trends and issues impacting the industry. The organisers believe that Nigeria has a plethora of challenges that must be solved if she must be a great nation indeed and tBS would serve as a platform to assist Nigeria in achieving the greatness it deserves within the comity of nations.

The tBs is a gathering of 30 passionate executives, decision makers and thought leaders who have the capacity to proffer solutions to issues affecting their industry and Nigeria through a brainstorming session done over breakfast.

This event is strictly by invitation because quality participation and deliberations are compulsory, so if you are a top executive and would like to to join other key decisions makers in the first series of tBs, register @ http://tbs.com.ng/tbs-registration/ and also contact us if you would like to partner the tBs team.

tBS will no doubt be a gathering of great minds with solutions that can transform the country. Barr. Shittu and his team need experts’ ideas to succeed & tBs is another credible platform to express ourselves as it concerns the growth of telecoms & IT industries in Nigeria. See you at tBs!

CFA is the Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter, Tech Trends on Channels Television


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

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Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.

Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.

Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.

The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.

However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.

MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.

In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.

Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.

Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.

“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.

 


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Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

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The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.

The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”

The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.

A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.

This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.

According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.

However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.

There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.

These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.

According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.

“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.

“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”

It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.

“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.

For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.

“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.

It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.


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Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

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Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.

Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.

Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).

Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.

Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.

“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”

Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response

Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.

Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.

The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.

Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.


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