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IIBA-Nigeria, PwC Highlight Big Data Changing Business Analysts’ Role
The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), (Nigeria), and the PwC have reiterated the need for business analysts to acquire the right skills and develop the right approach to leverage ever expanding concept of ‘BIG DATA’, to better enhance their organisations’ efficiency.
According to IIBA, the Business Analysts changing roles are evident in creating avenues for “stakeholders to understand the structure, policies and operations of an organisation and to recommend solutions that enable the organisation to achieve its goals”.
How Big Is Big Data?
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2011, 1.8Zetabytes, approximately 1.8 trillion Gigabytes of information were created worldwide; in 2012, the number reached 2.8Zetabytes and estimated to hit 40Zetabytes.
It is believed that 2.0Zetabytes of data is equivalent to 57million iPads.
Speaking at IIBA Nigeria- Lagos City Chapter, June 2015 meeting on the theme “The Enterprise Value of Big Data in Business Analysis”, Olusola Osinoiki, senior manager/ proposition lead, Enterprise Data Solutions, PwC, United Kingdom, said that the concept has become now pronounced following the emergence of cloud-based technology.
In live demo using World Beta technology to measure global data creation, he found that 74.8 billion active app sessions were recorded within an hour the IIBA meeting started.
According to him, in as much as the Internet will cause ‘disruptions’ in organisations and the society in general, the important of Big Data revolves around using right skills to harness accurate data to make informed decisions.
Meanwhile, a study by PwC tagged “Key Trends in Human Capital 2014: A New vision for Growth” told the story of a downturn with a very noticeable human capital impact that “those that had survived some harsh workforce cuts were left disengaged, with the youngest generation of workers suffering the most”.
“Today, the story is very different. The regions hit hardest are accelerating out of recession and organisations are focused again on growth. But the recovery has brought with it some familiar problems – low employee engagement, wage inflation in some markets and most importantly, skills shortages”.
In a similar study PwC found that availability of key skills and talents remains a priority for CEOs as 55% of them are determined to increase their headcounts in the next 12 months; 94% of whom are having robust diversity of strategy to place as a key step to solving their problems.
But, 73% of these CEOs are concerned about harnessing the right skills to drive growth, even as 64% CEOs fee their HR department is not well-positioned to address the changes required and opportunities for growth over the next 12 months.
How Big Data Change Business Analysis:
Taking a cue from the study, Osinoiki said that HR professionals and Business Analysts in Nigeria are expected to adapt to the new world of work as strategic workforce planning becomes a critical differentiator in organisations.
He said agility and business designs in organizations are data driven while business intelligence, IT, cloud computing, among others are impacting business decision making processes around the world.
To be more relevant in the new era, Osinoiki affirmed that Business Analysts must not shy away from “thinking of the impact of self service; turn unstructured data into actionable intelligence; turn structured data into applicable intelligence. The truth is that Big Data is not new. It has been with us, but the internet and mobile devices have revolutionised the concept. We must think and act fast to sure our relevance in our respective organisations and the trend will continue to grow”.
HR With The Power Of Data
“With the right skills; having access to a deep reservoir of ‘BIG Data’, provides an organisation with opportunities to gather ‘BIG Analytics’ for right decision making in terms of investments, delivering on business plans, keep abreast of regulations and diversifying processes to be in line with international standards”, the Guest Speaker said.
Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the Forum, John Ojurabesa, director, Sponsorship and Marketing, IIBA Nigeria, said that the concept of Big Data has completely changed the way business are currently managed and indeed the solutions the Business Analyst provide.
He said that the advent of cloud-based technology has ushered in an era where organisations are able to store and utilisevast amounts of data at a fraction of the cost and manpower required in the past.
“Current estimates suggest that we are creating over two quintillion bytes of data every day and approximately 90 per cent of the data that exists today was created in the past two years.
“Businesses have to respond to this growing amount of data and its complexity which include new risks and challenges of openness and security and the need to respond with instant feedback publicly like on Twitter businesses need to adapt to.
“With the right skills, access to a deep reservoir of big data provides organisations with the opportunity to gather ‘Big Analytics’ which in turn can provide CEOs with ‘Big Insights’ into their organisations,”Ojurabesa said.
The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association which commenced in October 2003 with the purpose of supporting and promoting the discipline of business analysis.
Over the years, IIBA helps business analysts develop their skills and further their careers by providing access to relevant content.
Thus, the Director, Sponsorship and Marketing, IIBA Nigeria, encouraged other Business Analysts in the country to join IIBA Nigeria, adding that, “When you join IIBA, you become part of a global network of Business Analysts practitioners, and have access to a range of valuable benefits.
“Joining demonstrates your commitment to professional development, and unlocks access to a range of networking and development opportunities, learning opportunities and discounts”.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has expressed displeasure over the level of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) losses by Nigerian researchers due to insufficient knowledge of the benefits of IPR protection.
Speaking at a one-day Coordinator’s Forum organized by the Office in Uyo for the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, the Director General, represented by Mrs. Caroline Anie-Osuagwu, director of Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination (TARC) department, said that prior to the establishment of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in Nigerian knowledge establishments, Nigerian researchers had no deep knowledge of the importance of IP protection, hence losing their IP rights.
In a statement signed by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu for the head, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, the DG advised researchers to always file for a patent each time they anticipate a breakthrough and avoid publishing before patenting, as any research work published in a paper is already in the public domain and can no longer be patented.
“IP rights are rights granted to a researcher or inventor by the government to have a monopoly over the financial exploitation of their inventions for a period of time to recoup the expenditure on their research undertaking”. the DG said.
She challenged patent owners to license or commercialize their inventions, adding that patents that cannot metamorphose into tangible products and services are not worth keeping, as they are liabilities to the owners.
The DG said that researchers with patented inventions can license their invention for royalty purposes or sell them outrightly to venture capitalists if they cannot commercialize.
“Over the years, the nation has depended on the consumption of products from foreign research, while Nigeria is blessed with skilled human resources but only needs to be strategic in their research understanding”.
“The aim of organizing the IPTTO coordinator’s forum was to interact with the coordinators, know their challenges and achievements, and encourage the centers that are not very progressive to strengthen their centers.” She added.
The DG stressed that while a number of centers are performing well, some are struggling to find their fit, occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
She expressed confidence in the ability of the research communities engaging in demand-driven and market-driven research to fast-track development adding that technology development is a product of research work, and knowledge institutions are duty-bound to engage in critical research to advance the IPR ecosystem in Nigeria.
Participants from the South-South Zone took turns to commend NOTAP for the impactful program and requested the Office to assist them with links to venture capitalists for the commercialization of their research results.
All the IPTTO coordinators presented their scorecards and were advised to get ready for the 2026 IPTTO ranking that would be organized by the Office.
A Nigerian tech enthusiast known online as the “tech queen,” Sapphire Egemasi, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a massive fraud scheme targeting U.S. government agencies.
Egemasi, a programmer with an active Devpost profile, was apprehended around April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, reports The Nation.
She was arrested alongside several alleged co-conspirators, including Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate.
The arrests follow a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024, which charged the group with multiple counts of internet fraud and money laundering. The crimes allegedly took place between September 2021 and February 2023.
According to prosecutors, the syndicate defrauded the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars by creating spoof websites that mimicked official U.S. government portals. These fraudulent platforms were used to harvest login credentials and redirect funds into accounts under the group’s control.
Investigators say Egemasi served as the technical lead of the operation. She allegedly designed the fake websites and managed the coordination of wire transfers.
Records show that in August 2022 alone, the group rerouted $965,000 into a PNC Bank account and funneled another $330,000 into a Bank of America account.
Before her arrest, Egemasi was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, though authorities believe she previously lived in Ghana, where she may have forged ties with other members of the syndicate.
To mask the origin of her wealth, Egemasi claimed on social media and professional platforms to have held internships with multinational corporations such as British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Her LinkedIn profile portrayed a polished image of a successful tech professional, while her social media accounts featured images of lavish vacations to destinations like Greece and Portugal —trips prosecutors allege were funded by illicit gains.
Egemasi and her co-defendants are currently in federal custody, awaiting trial in Lexington, Kentucky. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison, hefty financial penalties, and likely deportation upon completing their sentences.
A former Executive Director at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Abbas Muhammed Jega, has shed light on the financial dealings between Arik Air and Union Bank, revealing that the airline’s debt to AMCON was over N100 billion as of 2015 and remained unpaid.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON MD/CEO, and four others, Jega disclosed that AMCON acquired Arik’s loans from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, but not Zenith Bank, which was purchased after his exit.
According to Jega, AMCON discovered in a London meeting that Union Bank had sold them a guarantee rather than a loan, which was meant to cover foreign lenders in case Arik defaulted.
“We invited Arik to resolve the issue with Union Bank, but the arrangement disclosed by me never existed,” Jega said.
Jega attributed Arik’s inability to repay to over-trading, which led to their inability to service existing debts. He revealed that AMCON attempted to restructure Arik’s debt and even offered additional loan facilities to help the airline with working capital problems.
However, Arik failed to meet repayment obligations, prompting AMCON to propose two solutions: a debt equity swap and management control. Both options were rejected or delayed by Arik.
Under cross-examination, Jega confirmed that Kamilu Omokide and Captain Roy Ilegbodu played no role in the loan purchase or London meeting.
The matter has been adjourned to June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2025, for further cross-examination.
The case involves alleged financial misappropriation amounting to N76 billion and $31.5 million, with Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Ltd, and Super Bravo Ltd as defendants, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
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