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Ezekwesili Harps on Technology as Africa’s Lasting Solution to Problems

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Oby Ezekwesili, Public Policy Analyst and Senior Economic Advisor, has said that technology is the solution to problems facing Nigeria and Africa as she called for investment in infrastructure that would aid emergence of digital services in rural communities.

Ezekwesili divulged this at the weekly GageLive Instagram platform organised by Gage Awards on the theme, “Using Technology to Shape the Nigeria of The Future,” recently.

“What the digital world can offer citizens is limited. This is because it is mostly within the urban city. Beyond the urban city, the grade of the physical infrastructure – the digital infrastructure, the backbone is still not at the level of solidity, strength, performance and efficiency as should happen.”

Continuing, the BBOG co-founder noted: “Even today, when you and I are in this kind of a programme, we are not optimised because the quality of our connection is still fragile – very poor.”

She warned, however, that until Nigeria, Africa invest in the digital infrastructure that would facilitate their interconnection and their reach, “We will not be able to say that we are at a place of efficiency”.

According to the analyst, in terms of speed – a function of productivity, as long as technology and digital format are not giving us the level of speed that is a global approach of internet speed, then we are way below it.

Her words: “From the last number I checked, we were significantly more than 80 per cent below global speed in terms of internet. That is something to deal with.”

While responding to questions on the live programme, Ezekwesili highlighted that a lot of citizens were still in rural communities. And the rural environment does not make market scale for the private sector to offer digital service.

She proffered: “When there is a market failure, it is the government that must step in. So, rural infrastructure should support the kind of backbone that we need in order to provide digital content to the rural community.”

Noting that the rural communities are abode other than urban poor, she expressed that the real poverty is within the rural communities of Africa.

“We need to invest massively in the kind of infrastructure that would support the emergence of digital services in the rural communities of the continent.”

Again, she stressed on digital platforms that carry the content of what one wants to convey. “Look at digital platform for commerce, example, they are still in novelty on our continent. Now that we see what COVID-19 can do, hopefully what is going to happen is that we are going to realise that a lot of our lives will depend online”.

She, therefore, urged Africans to build – whether they are at macro or micro level platforms that enable us to convey messages and the things that are not so to print, adding that that would help enormously to expand the scope.

Sadly, she bemoaned the poor level of digital financial inclusion. “Digital financial services is something that is lacking. In the time of orthodox banking, it was difficult for banks to establish their branches all over the country.

“Even when they were mandated, many times they would set a goal for how many branches that needed to be set up. But the banks were always underperforming.

Speaking further, she added that in the same way, now that “We are going digital and trying to use technology to create financial inclusion, we still have barriers to that”

The economist, however, described one of the key barriers; forms of identification, as the major problem of Africa. “And technology is the solution to that problem of identity”.

For her, the unique identity that enables a person to become at par with the digital financial services is something that Africa would need to invest in. “And we have not yet invested in it as much as we should”.

She decried another sad part. “There is a vast body of public policy that is very necessary. Public policy is at the heart of showing readiness to migrate from one level of understanding of issues of development to a higher level of things”.

“Our public policy is trailing technology. It is way behind the curve of the rapid expansion of technology. So, you have a situation where people who are technophobes are the ones making policies around issues of technology.

To upgrade to a global standard, Ezekwesili advised: “We are going to have a problem. They don’t see how important it is to be in a hurry. We must be in a hurry. Our policies and laws have to reflect that”.

Not forgetting the many laudable series GAGE Awards has put up for the Nigerian youths, Ezekwesili commended the CEO of Gage Awards, Mr. Johnson Anorh.

GAGE Awards is an internet award conceptualised to reward excellence in digital application and online presence. It’s weekly InstagramLive show is part of the GAGE Awards plans of using its platform to shine the light on those who have used the digital space ingeniously.

In the words of the CEO, “These people who have used the digital space ingeniously share their story and get to inspire those looking to do great things on that space.”

“We have GageLive on Instagram once every week. But since the lockdown we have been having it more frequently to get to inspire those at home to do great things, since we now have time on our hands,” Anorh noted.


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Toll Collection on Lagos-Calabar Highway Begins December

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Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has announced that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled starting in December.

Umahi disclosed this during an interview for a forthcoming State House documentary marking the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said: “By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. We project a 10-year return on investment.

“The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure, and offers carbon credit advantages.

“It is more than a road; it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth.”

According to the minister, 30 kilometres of Section 1 have already been completed, with an additional 10 kilometres in Section 2 nearing delivery. Both segments feature six-lane concrete-paved carriageways, designed to meet modern standards for safety and durability.

Umahi further revealed that construction had commenced on Sections 3 and 3B of the highway, spanning a total of 65 kilometres, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom.

He described the positive response from local communities as a clear indication of the project’s wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.

“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact,” he said.

Umahi also highlighted the administration’s renewed focus on the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, which he noted was part of a broader vision dating back to colonial-era trade plans.

“The Trans-Saharan trade route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life,” the minister explained.


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Kaspersky Uncovers Dero Crypto Miner Spreading via Exposed Container Environments

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Kaspersky Security Services experts have identified a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting containerized environments to deploy a miner for the Dero cryptocurrency.

The attackers abuse exposed Docker APIs — parts of Docker, an open-source container development platform. In 2025, there are a significant number of Docker API default ports that are insecurely published, accounting for almost 500 occurrences worldwide on average each month.

In the discovered campaign, cybercriminals inject two types of malwares into the compromised systems: one is the miner itself and the other is a propagation malware that can spread the campaign to other insecure container networks.

Kaspersky experts discovered this malicious campaign as part of a compromise assessment project. According to expert estimates, any organisation that operates containerized infrastructure — while exposing Docker APIs without robust security controls — can be a potential target. These may include technology companies, software development firms, hosting providers, cloud service providers and more enterprises.

According to Shodan, in 2025, there are 485 published Docker API default ports¹ worldwide each month on average. This figure illustrates the campaign’s potential attack surface by tallying the “entry points” — or insecurely exposed ports that attackers might target.

Once attackers identify an insecurely published Docker API, they either compromise existing containers or create new malicious ones based on a legitimate standard Ubuntu image. They then inject two malware types into the compromised containers: “nginx” and “cloud”.

The latter is a Dero cryptocurrency miner, while “nginx” is a malicious software that maintains persistence, ensures execution of the miner and scans for other exposed environments. This malware allows attackers to operate without traditional Command-and-Control (C2) servers; instead, each infected container independently scans the Internet and can spread the miner to new targets.

“The campaign has the potential for exponential growth of infections, with each compromised container acting as a new source of attack, if security measures are not immediately put in place in the potentially targeted networks,” explains Amged Wageh, an incident response and a compromise assessment expert at Kaspersky Security Services.

“Сontainers are foundational to software development, deployment, and scalability. Their widespread use across cloud-native environments, DevOps, and microservices architectures makes them an attractive target for cyber attackers. This growing reliance demands organisations adopt a 360-degree approach to security — combining robust security solutions with proactive threat hunting and regular compromise assessments”.

The attackers embedded the names “nginx” and “cloud” directly in the binary — an inflexible executable file composed of instructions and data for the processor, not for humans. This is a classic masquerading tactic that lets the payload pose as a legitimate tool, trying to deceive both analysts and automated defenses.


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Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

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Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, charged five defendants before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of Premium Trust Bank.

Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

The defendants are listed as the bank’s e-payment service manager, Matthew Adeniyi; Kehinde Odeyemi, a nursing mother; Samson Latshin, Bolaji Omotosho and Sunday Okunnola.

They were charged before Justice Alexander Owoeye, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime and unlawful access to the bank’s database.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mrs. Zeenat Atiku, prosecutor, alleged that they committed the offence between April and May this year, in collaboration with three others, now at large.

Those still at large are Isa Ismaila, Victor Joshua, also known as ‘Oracle’ as well as one other, simply identified as Humble.

According to the charge, the first defendant unlawfully disclosed sensitive credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain details, to these parties.

She said this enabled an unauthorised access to the bank’s database and the consequent data breach allegedly resulted in financial gains of $10,000.

The prosecutor also alleged that the defendants attempted to intercept the bank’s network and procured a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 440 G9 laptop (serial No. SN#5CD2473N6G) configured to bypass the bank’s security systems.

The anti-graft agency said the alleged offences contravened the provisions of sections 12(1)(b), 27, 28(1)(b)(c) and 28(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).

Following their pleas, the prosecutor, requested for a trial date and sought an order to remand the defendants in custody.

Meanwhile, the court declined an oral bail by the defence counsel and directed that a formal bail application be filed.

He adjourned the case until June 30, for trial and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Nigerian correctional centre, pending bail.

The court, however, added that the defence may apply for an earlier trial date, upon filing their bail applications.

 


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