By Lukman Oladokun

As part of its contribution to the Renewed Hope Initiative’s (RHI) social investment programme, the Nigeria’s First Lady and Chairperson, RHI, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has commissioned another ICT Community Centre constructed by the National Information Technology Development Agency in collaboration for the RHI at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Speaking at the fun-filled event organised for the commissioning, the wife of the President commended NITDA for its impactful efforts in bridging the digital divide across the country.

She said, ” So far, NITDA has constructed four Community ICT Centres in collaboration with RHI for its social investment purposes. This centre we are commissioning today is the second, while Benue and Oyo centres are ready to be commissioned soon.”

“Other Digital Economy Centres have also been fully equipped with computers and other ICT materials in five states namely Jigawa, Ebonyi, Cross Rivers, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to her, additional 10 Digital Economy Centres in Abia, Edo, Delta, Ondo, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Yobe and Zamfara states are also fully equipped with computers and ICT materials and will be ready for commissioning soon.

While acknowledging that the knowledge of ICT serves as a vital tool for empowering communities especially women which enable them to break traditional barriers and new opportunities, Senator Tinubu declared that she has been informed that these centres are greatly benefiting youths, especially women and girls by providing invaluable opportunities for growth and empowerment.

“I am glad to hear about the success stories and opportunities these centres are affording members of these various communities that have benefited from these interventions. By equipping themselves with ICT skills, women and girls can enhance their educational prospects, be self-reliant, participate in the global economy, and support their families,” she added.

The First Lady urged the community members to take full ownership of these centres adding that the success of these centres depend on their active participation and utilisation of the resources available.

The Kwara State Governor, Malam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the First Lady and the NITDA’s management for what he described as “impactful initiative.”

He said, “Technology is here to stay and the only path forward is to aggressively invest in the skills and infrastructure that will secure a prosperous future for our people.”

“As we commissioned this ICT Community Centre today, I extend our heartfelt appreciation to Her Excellence and the RHI for this remarkable investment in our communities and youths.”

In his welcome remarks, the NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, said the project further attests to the president’s commitment to harnessing the potential of digital innovation to drive national prosperity and inclusivity.

Describing the project as a pivotal step towards strengthening the digital economy and enhancing our citizens’ digital fluency and proficiency, he said the centre is designed and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to deliver smart, interactive and personalised learning experience to the citizens.

“We know knowledge is a foundation upon which countries build robust and sustainable economy, this aligns with President Tinubu’s commitment to elevating Nigeria to a premier status of the global digital economy and by harnessing the potential of digital innovation to drive national prosperity and inclusivity.

He said, “To achieve this, our President directed us to enhance productivity in crucial sectors such as education, that is the reason we are here to commission this initiative. So the President is committed to that, and our mother, the First Lady, through her initiative is partnering with NITDA to deliver this centre to you in Kwara State.

The NITDA boss said the centre is in line with the president’s wife initiative of empowering women, the vulnerable groups and the students with knowledge they need to thrive in life. “We thank you mummy for this partnership with NITDA to implement this initiative.”

“This is one of our initiatives designed as the Digital Literacy for All because we know Nigeria’s greatest resource is not the mineral underneath us but it is our human capital. And this is the only way we can deliver a sustained inclusive growth as a nation.”

He noted that the initiative is designed in three buckets.

“We have worked with the Ministry of Education, we developed curriculum for primary and secondary schools, we are training the teachers this year and by next session, digital skills will be embedded in Nigerian formal educational sector.

The centre is equipped with 48 computer sets, e-learning facilities, alternative power source, internet facility and other essential ICT components.

The event was graced by the Imo State Governor, Chief Hope Uzodinma, the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, Wife of the Senate President, Wife of the Speaker of the House of Representative, Wife of the National Security Adviser, some state governors’ wives and other top government’s functionaries.

Geoffrey Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, said Nigeria can only derive maximum economic benefits from patents when translated into services for economic growth.

He stated this during his official presentation of patent certificates to researchers and inventors facilitated by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in Abuja

The minister explained that since 2010 till date NOTAP has secured 340 parents for indigenous inventors and researchers. “I am reliably informed that from 2010 to date, NOTAP has been able to secure about 340 patent certificates for inventors and researchers of tertiary and research institutes and individuals.

“Let me also congratulate the recipient of these certificates facilitated by NOTAP. I equally wish to emphasise that this is just the first step in reaping the economic benefit of your inventions. The nation can only derive maximum benefit from your efforts, if your patents translate into products/services for economic growth.”

“Intellectual property in the form of technological innovation has today become the basis of international power structure. The speedy industrialisation of the country and its economic growth depend largely on the efforts of our researchers.” he emphasised

Earlier speaking, Dr. Oby Amadiobi, the Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), reaffirmed that the agency is committed to technology and innovation advancement in the country

She added that since inception, NOTAP has remained committed to this goal, and have successfully facilitated the issuance of over 340 patent certificates.

“Our intervention in this space is driven by a clear purpose; to reduce the financial burden on academicians and researchers so they can focus on the essential tasks of research and innovation.

“We recognize that the process of securing intellectual property rights can be costly and complex, and this often poses a significant challenge for many inventors, especially within the academic community.

So, stepping in to support this process through assisting in evaluation and drafting of patent applications, payment of necessary patenting fees, NOTAP ensures that our researchers can channel their energy and resources into creating solutions that address societal challenges and contribute to national development.

The DG celebrated the awardees, saying their creativity, resilience and commitment are shining examples of what is possible when talent meets opportunity.

NOTAP secured a total of 21 patent certificates for some individuals, groups and the academia, which they promise to monitor and commercialise their products or services to improve the nation’s economy.

One of the recipients, the founder of Horizon International University, Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State. Prof. Ajibade Abiodun who spoke, said they “patent owners” need protection because their inventions and Innovations will not be welcomed by market forces.

By Sola Odumosu

 History was made on the evening of Monday, January 27, in Lagos at the colourful Thisday Awards ceremony when serial digital entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh, shared the same podium with his son, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, as winners in different categories of the much-coveted awards. The awards commemorated the 30th and 12th anniversaries of Thisday Newspapers and Arise News, respectively.

While the father, who is the Chairman of Zinox Group, was honoured as CEO of the Year, his Oxford-trained son, Prince, the CEO of Konga Group, was decorated with the Young Global Leader Award for his transformative role in navigating Konga as a foremost composite e-commerce giant in Nigeria and Africa. It was historic, being the first time ever that a father and his son would be honoured on the same night in the nation’s Infotech ecosystem.

Who is This Prince?

Prince Ekeh was 19 and a student at University of Lancaster, United Kingdom, when he birthed the idea of Yudala, a brutally ambitious e-commerce outpost. Majoring in Economics/Politics with a minor in Entrepreneurship, young Ekeh was not going to leave the idea merely as a paper concept. He was in a hurry to birth it to life. And while back home to serve his fatherland under the auspices of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Yudala was born, becoming a place of activity employing over 250 staff at that time. And ever since, he has navigated the company to the crest of e-commerce players in Africa. He would later top up his academic kit with an MBA from Oxford and numerous entrepreneurial certifications from Lagos Business School, Leysin American School, Switzerland, and Harvard, among others.

Yudala was the first composite e-commerce outpost in Nigeria (a hybrid of the online-offline one-stop-shop). This idea has caught global attention and is now being replicated across the continent. Smart and endowed with bullish strength and uncommon intuition to sniff the next opportunity, Prince in 2018 achieved what many thought impossible. His start-up, Yudala, acquired Konga, a top player in Nigeria’s e-commerce space, in a landmark merger that became effective May 1, 2018. The young whiz has since expanded Konga to a leading e-commerce house in Africa, retaining the composite character of Yudala. He has creatively expanded the market share value and networth of Konga by building its business verticals to include logistics, fintech, travel, and leisure.

Young Prince Ekeh is not new to awards. He had been nominated for the prestigious Future Awards for Business Excellence, and featured as Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in response to the proclamation by United Nation’s General Assembly Resolution 68/237, and had been awarded Icon of Human Transformation by the National Association of Nigerian Students. The Thisday award is, therefore, another feather to the decorated cap of the savvy entrepreneur in a hurry to make his mark.

Leo Stan, a Peculiar Breed

His father, popularly called Leo Stan, was honoured with the CEO of the Year Award in the private sector, the only CEO in the highly competitive and sometimes treacherous private sector to be so honoured. The historical and symbolic moment was not lost on him. He recognised the honour of sharing the same platform with his son, both being rewarded for their peerless contribution to Nigeria, nay Africa, digital economy. It was a rarity, more so, as they shared the same podium with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was voted Thisday Man of the Year for his bold reforms and leadership exemplum on the African continent.

Leo Stan deserves the honour, and he has seen many in his over three decades of entrepreneurship and unrelenting promotion of digital democracy in Nigeria. It was no coincidence that when Thisday turned 30 years, it could not find any Nigerian more worthy than Leo Stan for the award of CEO of the Year. It’s both instructive and divine especially when you consider that Leo Stan was the man who computerized newspaper houses, advertising agencies, and printing presses in Nigeria in the late 80s and early 90s when many Nigerians were still in awe of the computer and all its magical, even mythical, wand.

Since returning from the United Kingdom to start his entrepreneurship odyssey in IT over 30 years ago, Leo Stan has stood out as a bustling serial digital pioneer with an elephantine ambition to computerize Nigeria — a mission he has achieved on many fronts.

His zeal and passion have placed him at the cusp of the competition with many firsts to his badge. The first internationally certified indigenous computer brand in West Africa and the first computer brand in the world to incorporate the Naira sign (₦) on its keyboard. First Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in sub-Saharan Africa to receive Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Lab Certification (WHQL); first Microsoft Prime Production Online Automation Partner in Sub-Saharan Africa with the OA Version 3.0; first Intel Premium Partner; first OEM in West Africa to attain the ISO 9001-2015 Certification; first to acquire the Google Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) in West Africa; first OEM in Nigeria to introduce renewable energy and lifestyle products and attaining the status of Intel Platinum Partner in sub-Saharan Africa.

When he launched the Zinox brand in 2001, it was not just an addition to the crowd of indigenous-branded computers. It was a fitting counterfoil to the dominance of foreign computer brands in Nigeria. Zinox has since become an African brand.

Zinox has proven both competence and capacity at home and in other parts of Africa. It was the preferred technology that powered several mega projects including the 8th All Africa Games codenamed COJA 2003; the 18th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Nigeria in 2003; the All-Africa University Games held in Bauchi in 2004; the 7th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Africa Union (AU) held in The Gambia in 2006. It has also undertaken critical interventions by transforming the Nigeria and Guinea Bissau electoral systems from analogue to digital. The conduct of Nigeria general elections in 2007 and 2011 using digitally produced voter register for the first time in Nigeria was because of Zinox. It has also fully provided the technology for the postponed first ever national digital census in Nigeria.

Leo Stan is an intentional family man who has built a digital family. His wife, Lady Chioma Ekeh, a mathematician and chartered accountant oversees the biggest tech distribution company in sub – Saharan Africa, TD Africa. His first son and co-awardee, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh leads Konga Group. His first daughter, Mrs. Gozy Ajogun (nee Ekeh), an alumnus of London School of Economics (LSE) oversees Task Systems, an ICT solutions firm under the Zinox Group. The second daughter, Miss Chidalu Ekeh, with a Masters in Digital Marketing from Imperial College, London, is a Fintech whiz. At the same time, his other two younger sons also play in the tech space. He has added digital value to Nigeria and Africa. He deserves his award and the historical honour of being garlanded with his son. It’s double congratulations to Africa’s dominant digital family. It was indeed their night.

Odumosu, an ICT media connoisseur, writes from Lagos.