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Uwadia Backs Coderina, Harps on Robotics Programming Skills Test Awareness
Professor Charles Uwadia, head of Computer Science, University of Lagos (UniLag), has applauded Coderina, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) vision in promoting Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in Nigeria.
Uwadia who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeekduring a FIRST® LEGO® League, an exciting and fun global robotics program that ignites an enthusiasm for discovery, science, and technology in kids ages 9 to 16, said that the programme deserves support from both the Government and the Private sector, as Coderina has shown that sustainability of Science and Technology, Engineering and Education in Nigeria must not be overlooked.
Holding for the first time in Nigeria, but for the penchant interests of SAP, world leading Enterprise Application Software provider and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the number one ICT agency of the federal government led by the visionary Engr. Peter Jack; as the sponsors.
Other key allies are the University of Abuja as regional host and Dept of Computer Science Unilag,
The FIRST® LEGO® League session held during the weekend at the University of Lagos (Unilag), attracted over 300 students from different schools in the State while 140 of them competed.
With more sponsors and State Governments involvement, the Organisers said they want to take FLL as an annual event to the 36 states of the Federation.
To this end, Uwadia said, “In the area of ICT funding is either here nor there because there is nothing that is really fully funded here in the country. You can only make do with what is available. My own feeling is that even within what is available financially we can still energize our youth to get them to show interest in science and technology, mathematics and eventually take it up as a career.
“I want to thank the organisers, First Lego League for this initiative and also the management of UNILAG for agreeing to collaborate with this group for it to take place here. The programme is very important when we are talking about sustainability of Science and Technology, Engineering and Education in Nigeria.
“And you can only be able to sustain such type of programme if you catch them young, that is you address the very foundation of education.
“The choice of the University environment is to give the youth a feeling of an educational environment different from where they are coming from. Secondly, to create the environment of fun, while learning very serious things like Science, Technology and Mathematics.
“The first thing is that government cannot do it alone. Government is doing its own bit and there is need to actually get the private sector to be involved. They should approach them and lay the cards on the table for them to know what they stand to benefit and I am sure in the coming year they will get more private sector involvement into the programme.
“Well, if it is succeeding in countries like Singapore which is a very small country there is no reason why it cannot succeed here. In 2001 when I was in Australia I met a group of students who were Singapore and they were just diploma students and I was amazed at the kind of things they were doing.
“They were already using Java to write code to be able to move objects in 2001. Here we are in 2015 in Nigeria, it’s not new as this is something we ought to have been doing in Nigeria much early than this time. What is important is that we sustain it.
He added that awareness is very important and that was the reflections of the last week’s programme.
Uwadia said, “Senstization is important and we need to take it much further by allowing it to transit down to the level that even kids at home will be able to play with some robotics, creating awareness at that level to crèche, primary and secondary”.
Earlier, Mr. Olajide Ajayi, director, Coderina/FLL Nigeria, reiterated that technologies offer opportunities to stimulate growth, increase innovation and enable individuals and institutions to interact more productively within the global economy.
However, realizing the possibilities require the need to put technology at the core and also as a part of a mix of productive changes and supporting capabilities.
The Director said that matching resources by resourcefulness and combining such efforts with initiatives on the part of educators, government and the third sector in the quest to build capacity for our future creative leaders, has become even more essential.
“The tournaments”, the director said, “are a culmination of activities carried out on the World Class challenge (the theme for the 2014/2015 season). In the 2014 FLL World Class Challenge, 265,000 children from 80 countries will re-design how we gather knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Teams will teach adults about the ways that kids need and want to learn”.
FIRST® LEGO® League, he further explained, is an Educational partnership between FIRST® and the LEGO® Group.
“It is a program for a team (comprising of 2-10) of children from ages 9 to 16 with a different challenge/theme issued annually. It has three (3) components comprising of Project, Robot Game and Core Values.
“In the project, teams research a real-life issue related to the theme of the year, create or proffer a new and innovative solution, then present this information (using different presentation models and props) during a timed presentation to the judges. This is followed up by a timed question and answer period.
“The robot game deals with robot design, build and programming to complete a set of missions on a thematic table-top playing surface.
“Core Values – the FLL Core Values are the cornerstones of the FLL program. They are among the fundamental elements that distinguish FLL from other programs of its kind. By embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.
Such values inculcated on the students were to invoke the thoughts as “We are a team. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. We know our coaches and mentors do not have all the answers; we learn together. We honour the spirit of friendly competition. What we discover is more important than what we win. We share our experiences with others. We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do and We have FUN!
The next session holds in Abuja on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
Questions have been mounting over the House of Representatives threat to order the arrest of the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mrs. Bisoye Coker-Odusote for failure to appear before it to answer charges on refusal to pay for a state-of-the-art software development project executed by a private company, Truid Limited, for NIMC.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions had invited the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, to appear before it to explain the commission’s failure to pay for the state-of-the art software development project executed by the private company, Truid Limited for NIMC. However, the NIMC DG has repeatedly failed to honour the committee’s invitation in person.
The Committee’s Chairman, Honourable Mike Etaba, who was angered by the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote’s failure to appear before the committee to personally answer charges on the matter after repeated invitations, last month, issued a stern warning to order the Inspector-General of Police, to arrest the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote if she refused to appear before the committee at its next hearing, which was fixed for March 13, 2025.
However, it has been over two weeks after the Committee’s sitting of March 13, 2025; yet, there are no indications that the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, honoured the committee’s invitation by personally appearing before it. The committee also appears to have failed to order the IGP to arrest her, leading to many raising questions over the seriousness of the committee to execute its threats. Others wonder why the chief executive of a government agency would refuse to personally appear before the House of Representatives to answer charges on a petition regarding the agency’s activities.
During its sitting of February 11, 2025 the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions threatened to order the arrest of the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bisoye Coker-Odusote.
The committee said it would actualise the threat if Mrs. Coker-Odusote failed to come in person to answer charges on her refusal to pay for the state-of-the-art software development project.
Chairman of the committee, Mike Etaba, frowned at the continuous absence of the NIMC director-general despite several invitations.
In a statement by the Media Head, Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives, Chooks Oko, the Chairman of the Committee stated: “If she fails to show up at the next hearing of this case, we’ll have no option than to ask the Inspector-General of Police to bring her.
“How can an official of government treat constituted authority with such levity? We can no longer condone such attitude,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was installed and deployed to the commission by a private firm, Truid Limited, which was alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC.
The statement added that the private company, Truid Limited, which executed the state-of-the-art software development project, is alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC, noting that E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, stated that the contract is premised on an arrangement whereby the Truid Limited funded, developed and deployed the “tokenization system project” without any financial obligation from NIMC.
According to E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, the agreement is premised on an arrangement that the project would be funded by the firm.
“Truid Ltd was to get returns on her investment through patronage of service providers and the proceeds shared on an agreed ratio. This was to run for an initial period of 10 years, from 2021 when the software was deployed,” Opara said.
According to the petition, things were going smoothly until the appointment of the new DG of NIMC, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, who has been trying to truncate the agreement.
When contacted to comment on whether or not the DG NIMC has personally appeared before the committee, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Honourable Mike Etaba said: “For now, that matter has been stepped down!”
Honourable Etaba explained further why the matter was stepped down: “We are now taking that case on an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) route. That’s where the matter is now,” he said, adding, “the Committee is silent on it (the matter) until they give us the report of the ADR. That is when we will know what next to do.”
Asked when the ADR resolution he mentioned is meant to be concluded, Honourable Etaba stated: “I can’t say for now how and when the ADR will come up. That’s the situation of the case for now.”
The Lagos State Governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commended Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia Nigeria, for its giant strides and in the growth of the country’s e-commerce sector, as well as its unique contributions to its economic development.
He said that Jumia has earned its place as a major brand, with its growth and trajectory in the country’s e-commerce ecosystem over the years which, he said, has made it a household name. He urged the company to not only strive to maintain its excellent service standards, but to also work towards improving them.
The Governor who was speaking during a courtesy visit by the management of Jumia Nigeria to the State House in Marina on Thursday March 27, reaffirmed the strategic importance of the company in the economic development of Lagos State and Nigeria, especially in job creation.
He restated his administration’s commitment in ensuring that Lagos State remains environmentally friendly for businesses to grow.
“Our administration has always prioritized creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Through various initiatives, we have strengthened the ease of doing business, and fostered innovation to drive economic growth, and we will continue to support businesses and create opportunities that will aid in their growth”, Sanwo-Olu said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said that the Lagos State Government remains open to collaborations with the private sector to enhance service delivery, infrastructure development, and create opportunities for residents, with the aim of building a resilient and sustainable future.
He said the administration recognises the importance of working with the private sector to achieve its goals of improving the lives of its citizens.
Speaking also, the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Sunil Natraj, thanked the governor for creating an enabling environment in the state for businesses like Jumia to grow. He stated Jumia’s commitment to contributing towards the growth and development of the state, and the country.
Natraj said the company has made tremendous strides from its early days as a tech start-up in Lagos and has grown to become the number one e-commerce platform in Nigeria, with a presence in nine African countries. He said the company presently employs hundreds of Nigerians directly, and thousands more indirectly as independent sales agents and partners.
He restated Jumia Nigeria’s commitment to providing excellent service, focusing on delivering exceptional value and fostering long-term relationships with its customers around the country.
Among other things, he said the company is actively working to enhance customer experience, aiming to simplify the e-commerce process, making it easier for customers to navigate and shop online.
According to him, Jumia aims to transform everyday life in Africa by making it easier for consumers to access goods and services conveniently and affordably, adding that the company is focused on expanding access to retail across the country.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced its readiness for the capital market with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) now in the final stage.
Mr. Olugbenga Oluwaniyi, chief finance and investor relations officer (CFIO), NNPC, stated this at a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday.
He said the move aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
He said NNPCL was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged: “NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade” in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the IPO.
According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade is to assess potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.
He listed the areas of partnership required to include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisors, and Investment Bank Partners.
He said the company with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
The PIA provides for NNPCL to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
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