General News
AFRICA: A Digital Colony
Look! Africa is fast becoming a digital colony without her realizing it.Am deeply afraidwith the way we are going,that one day if nothing is done, we will wake up and see one smart kid in say China remotely controlling the economies of nations in Africa!Yes,it is as bad as that, if you have keenly followed trends of events happening especially in the cyberspace.And frankly this demands a state of emergency by African Union. In my opinion; this is the new war we need to fight in Africa withcode warriors for digital independence! Africa,one of the largest continents of the world,blessed with great human and material resources no doubt,it becomes unfortunate that even with these abundant resources,our nations are still very poor,underdeveloped and living in the third world. When i look at emerging economiesand the vintage role Africa should play, i say to myself, why is Africa still sleeping. Are we really ready for the coming wealth and power transfer? How are we positioned? We seem to become eternally clueless about technology, its place in African development and what the future holds. My fear is that in thisnew knowledge economy driven by technologies,Africa has started playing the same ignorant and i –dont- care role they played during the Agricultural and industrial age which left us with hunger, poverty and lack. It even took our self esteem away.In this digital age,the consequences cannot be imagined because of the speed associated with digital advancement and if nothing is done now, Africa might never recover from this digital colonisation. I am writing this with the mind that if Africa can realize what she has, find ways to develop the continent using technology as the driving force,we will be the next continent to beat in the global arena of technology competitiveness and overcome this digital enslavement!It isclear that any nation or continent that cannot develop and grow its own technologies has no future and will depend on others.They will hardly regain their freedom. Our over dependency and consumption of technologies(with none made in Africa)have left us as a digital colony while we plough the fields of other smart nations making them Digital giants and singing their songs in Africa. Digital colonization enslaves Africa in her domain making her fully dependent on the global IT savvy nations for all her technology needs, thereby compromising her critical resources and her sovereignty without her knowing. Chris Uwaje in his book-e-Knowledge-Time is running out!aptly captures the entire scenario of a digital colony,he said”some shortsighted nations will wake-up at midnight one day,in the early decades of this century and suddenly realize that they have been digitally colonized. The resultant effect of this will seriously impact on the future generations to come. It simply means that the entire life,culture and sovereignty of a nation and her citizenry have been unknowingly to the people traded off and taken over by IT-smart, powerful and knowledge- centered information force and/or forces on the globe.” The following points to the fact that we have been digitally colonised:Technology Products Consumption in Africa,Technology and Security in Africa,Data storage and management in Africa,Technology Entrepreneurship in Africa. I look around Africa and i see no technology product of African origin that is serving the tech needs of the people ,not to talk of ones for export,still our technology consumption is very high in Africa.Our countries have turned into a digital dumping ground for used and out dated tech stuffs. Right now as you are reading this, if you are in Africa, look around where you are,can you identify any Made in Africa Tech Product?That is how deep the truth of the matter is.From the websites we visit daily to thecars we drive,the computers and laptops,servers, our mobilephones with the sim cards,you name them, to even the smallest of gadgets. They are shipped to us from other nations. None is made in Africa and yet we take so much delight in promoting and associating ourselves with the Global brands of other continents; have you ever given this a thought? It’seven a bigger shame when you find out that most times it is Africans in diaspora that drive those tech developments around the world, why can’t we use our knowledge and experience to develop our Africa viatechnology. I see many African intellectuals all over the world, with PhDswith no invention to their credit, no contribution whatever to the development of Africa. All they do is speak and give speeches at forums without any thought of how to move the continent forward. I see them as academic derelicts of African descent!I began to imagine-What do Africans use their PhDs for?To suppress their brothers and sisters? While others improve the lives of their brothers and sisters in other continents. Yes,i know there are several reasons why no one should live in Africa,from bad government to bad policies but those are the same reasons that keep bringing investors(oyibos) into Africa to explore what the people do not know exist with them. True development in Africa can only be done by Africans. Let’s briefly look at Security and Technology in Africa,since we cannot develop our technologies in Africa;our technology needs for National security and critical information management in Africa like inour central and commercial banks,stock exchanges,Government information system,Military and defenseinformation system, other vital information of the state,who handles them?Whatsoftwarerunsthem? Many interesting questions that can come out of this.These important aspect of security in Africa are always outsourced to India,China, US or other tech savvy nations. For example,Nigeria launched her second satellites with critical information management outsourced to China because we don’t have what it takes to handle such. That has clearly put us at the mercy of China and the government seems not to know the implications of such in time to come.It has very graveconsequences and cracks on thesovereignty and the ability of Africa to really protect,control and manage herterritories. The Governments have failed to make the needed investment to grow her local technology, at last they lose control of their countries and at the end everyone is asking why African nations arewar-torn. I watch with keen interest the controlling effect of technologies in developed economies ,this have made the government of such tech savvy nations fully interested in these technology companies and their well being. They are seen as a national pride and they represent the future of those countries. Their government goes ahead to protect them against international influences, i remember vividly when Google was having issues in China, itwas not only a fight for Google but American government plays key role in that.We have also witnessed theCanadian government throw her full support at RIM/Blackberrry as their national pride.Across the African countries, where lies our national pride in technology?Which brand can we export to the world that can stand as a global brand in technology,that’s what am talking about.We have no pride in Technology all over the world,we are all dependants and that is digital slavary. In recent times following the exponential growth in Mobile related businesses in Africa,We have all agreed that the future of Africa lies in Mobile,yes,I agree but how many African companies will benefit directlyfrom these mobile boom.It is clear that the people that will directly benefit are the equipment manufacturers(like Nokia, Samsung,Blackberry and others), Software and application developers then the network providers.Which among these have Africa entrepreneurs positioned themselves to benefit from? A deeper look into this subject brings us to the question:How is the Internet exchanges in Africa developed?Do we have efficient Internet exchangePoints (IXPs) to route our internet traffic and data carrying our critical resources and information?The Internet Exchange Point is an important infrastructure to be considered in national development. The most worrisome is that this negative effect is handed down from generations to generations;the young generation of African Youthsare the ones to lead the change and make things right despite the daunting challenges. We cannot leave Africa the way we met her,We need to take our destinies in our hands. I applaud several tech based initiatives being powered by Young people across Africa,from Kenya,Ghana,South Africa,Egypt,Nigeria, Zambia,Cameroon to other nations in Africa. In all of these, we should understand where we are now,where we need to be and how to get there. We should also know the type of Start- ups we need in Africa right now to make the needed impact.Startups that can put us in the world map among the comity of nations like Facebook,Google, Twitter etc they are not there to fight their government. I have full conviction that African youths have great potentials that can change the world if harnessed and given the right environment. We need to start encouraging more young people to study Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, Software development, ComputerScience and related courses.We have dearth of competent professionals in these areas. I won’t conclude this without suggesting a few things that we need to do now to avert this perpetual digital enslavement. Africa urgently needs her own technologies,technology companies of global repute and a technology work force to handle all her tech needs. The African Union should see technology as a tool that will leapfrog Africa’s development and therefore develop a pragmatic roadmap for its achievement. The governmet of African nations should develop policies aimed at developing their nations through technology. They should make special preferences for Africa owned technology businesses and give them the support,protection and encouragement to grow into a global brand. Investment in technology development should be a deliberate and conscious effort by all Africans. Our leaders and people in government who have stolen public funds should also have the mind to invest in Africa in the area of technology development rather than stash the money in faraway Swiss boosting other economies. There should be several organisations,government,individuals and businesses who will provide grants,venture funds to young Africans to help them grow their ideas.This is really lacking in Africa.And there lies our furture. And finally our orientation about ourselves should change,we are not inferior in anyway!Viva Africa!!
General News
EFCC Says Corrupt Politicians are Using Crypto Wallets to Launder Money

Ola Olukoyede, chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has raised the alarm that some corrupt Nigerian politicians are now hiding their illicit wealth in cryptocurrencies to evade scrutiny and detection by anti-graft agencies.

Ola Olukoyede, chairman, EFCC
The EFCC boss said the agency had uncovered a growing trend where fraudulent public officials now used cryptocurrency wallets to stash stolen public funds and conduct illicit transactions.
Olukoyede made the revelation at an event commemorating Africa Anti-Corruption Day.
The event was held simultaneously in Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan, Oyo State.
Other speakers at the event lamented that Nigerians usually fell victim to crypto fraud, including the recent CBEX scam, where Nigerians lost over N1.3tn.
Olukoyede said, “Virtual asset fraud is on the rise. Our findings show that fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative blackness of anti-corruption agencies.
“Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets and payment for services are being done through this window,” he said.
Olukoyede warned that while the rise of virtual assets had transformed financial transactions globally, it had also created new avenues for money laundering and financial crimes.
He said, “Technology is moving at a supersonic speed around the world.
“The advent of virtual assets is a response to one of the qualities of money as a store of value like it is known in our elementary economies.”
“However, as with every progressive innovation, fraud starts to usually evolve, evolve ways of perverting their genuine purposes,” he said.
He added that the EFCC was not helpless in the face of the sophisticated schemes, noting that proactive training and intelligence sharing had enabled the commission to identify and investigate such cases.
General News
Airtel Nigeria Drives BFSI and Utility Sector Innovation with Industry-wide Workshop

Airtel Nigeria, telecommunications and digital solutions provider, has reemphasised its commitment to national development with a two-day workshop for companies in Nigeria’s Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) and utility sectors.
Held from July 8 to 9, 2025 at the Lagos Continental, the exclusive event brought together C-suite executives and industry thought leaders to co-create transformative and tech-driven solutions for these critical industries.
Themed “Banking on Innovation: Powering Financial Services with Connectivity” on 1 and “Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Leap: Smarter Networks, Smarter Business” on Day 2, the sessions were designed to identify critical pain points, unlock business potential, and drive smarter, more connected operations across two of the nation’s most essential sectors.
Delivering the keynote address, Dinesh Balsingh, Managing Director/CEO of Airtel Nigeria, reaffirmed Airtel’s dedication to enabling and driving Nigeria’s digital transformation across the finance and energy sectors.
Speaking on the timeliness of the workshop, Airtel Nigeria’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh said, “From power and water to finance, transportation, and logistics, this is a defining moment for every sector. The real question isn’t whether to adopt digital solutions, but how quickly and intelligently we can do so. At Airtel Nigeria, we’re moving beyond basic connectivity and becoming a true digital partner to the industries we serve.”
He highlighted Airtel’s categories of enterprise solutions that has been created to improve quality of life. These groupings include Internet of Things (IoT) for such services as smart metering, leak detection, energy optimisation, and real-time asset tracking; Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), which enables secure, multi-channel customer engagement via SMS, WhatsApp, Voice, and USSD; as well asl Network as a Service (NaaS), which delivers flexible, secure connectivity with cloud-ready agility.
Mr. Balsingh added that, “Nigeria’s power and energy industries are under growing pressure to modernise. Legacy infrastructure, fragmented systems, and lack of real-time visibility are major obstacles. Airtel is stepping in with the right tools, not just to connect, but to transform. With IoT, CPaaS, and NaaS, we’re laying the groundwork for smarter operations, improved service delivery, and better outcomes for businesses and consumers alike.”
Abhishek Biswal, Chief Business Officer, Digital Services at Airtel India, brought substantial insight to the discourse with a demonstration of Airtel’s IoT Hub and its transformative impact on energy distribution.
Biswal said, “The future of finance and energy is digital, and that future must be secure, scalable, and seamless. When financial players and utility providers partner with telcos like Airtel, we’re not just connecting systems; we’re building a smarter digital ecosystem for everyone.”
Reinforcing the CEO’s position, Ogo Ofomata, Director, Airtel Business, called for collaboration among the participating sector and their stakeholders.
“We don’t take lightly the trust you have put in us. Airtel operates in what we call the enabler industry. Sometimes we don’t even know there’s a problem until we come together like this. This workshop is about understanding your needs and working side by side to design solutions that truly fit,” she said.
In his remarks, Luc Serviant, Group Enterprise Business Director at Airtel Africa, highlighted the company’s role in driving digital transformation through sustained investments in 5G and LEO satellite connectivity, aimed at boosting remote operations and expanding access in underserved regions across the finance and energy sectors.
He said, “At Airtel, we understand that the future of is going digital, and reliable connectivity is the backbone of that future. From 5G to LEO satellite integration, we are investing in intelligent infrastructure that empowers service providers to operate more efficiently, respond in real-time, and deliver uninterrupted services to millions of Nigerians. This isn’t just about innovation; it’s about building the digital foundation that will power the nation’s next chapter.”
This workshop, which continues the series of sectoral engagements within Nigeria’s growing economy, concluded with feedback from stakeholders who called for the inclusion of regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in future editions.
General News
AfCFTA Credit Fund Makes First Investment With $10m Loan

The Credit Fund of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund has successfully closed its first investment, committing $10 million to Telecel Global Services Ltd, through a senior secured amortising loan.
The transaction marks a significant milestone in the operationalisation of the Fund. The Credit Fund is one of three Funds under the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, established by the AfCFTA Secretariat and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to provide targeted transitional support to AfCFTA State Parties and private sector entities as they adjust to the requirements and opportunities presented by the AfCFTA Agreement.
Telecel Global Services, a subsidiary of the Mauritius based Telecel Group, provides wholesale voice and SMS services and enterprise connectivity solutions to more than 250 telecoms operators across Africa and globally.
With digital connectivity being at the heart of the trade and economic integration and success of the AfCFTA, this facility will support Telecel’s expansion in Ghana and Liberia, strengthen its infrastructure, and contribute to bridging Africa’s digital divide through enhanced connectivity and digital inclusion.
By investing in digital infrastructure in underserved markets, the Fund is helping reduce trade barriers, foster cross-boarder productivity and accelerate inclusive industrialization. Mr. Jean-Louis Ekra, Chairman of the Board of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Corporation, stated: “
The closing of our first deal marks a historic milestone for the Credit Fund and the broader vision of the AfCFTA.
This US$10 million investment in Telecel Global Services is a clear demonstration of how targeted capital can drive meaningful impact—accelerating digital connectivity, enabling intraAfrican trade, and supporting private sector-led development in priority sectors.
It is our commitment to ensure that such investments continue to bridge critical gaps, stimulate economic resilience, and unlock Africa’s vast potential.”
H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, noted: “This transaction demonstrates how the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund is beginning to serve its intended purpose – supporting State Parties and the private sector as we work to make this Agreement commercially meaningful.
By investing in digital infrastructure, we are addressing some of the most critical enablers of trade facilitation, industrialisation, and regional value chain development.”
Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, added: “Today, we make another bold statement of our unwavering intent to ensure that Africans reap the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
We are proud to have commenced the operationalisation of the Credit Fund. With this Fund, we will provide vital support to African corporates, helping them retool and expand their operations necessary to capitalise on the AfCFTA opportunities.
The investment strengthens a critical enabler, the digital economy and regional connectivity, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to transforming the structure of the African economy.”
Marlene Ngoyi, CEO, FEDA, the Fund Manager of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, said: “This investment exemplifies the strategic intent of the Credit Fund – to catalyse growth and resilience in sectors that are vital for Africa’s structural transformation.
We are proud to partner with Telecel, whose operations directly advance intra-African connectivity and digital trade.”
The Credit Fund will continue to prioritise commercially viable investments that enable trade, support diversification, and promote inclusive growth in line with the broader AfCFTA implementation agenda.
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