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NASRDA Expresses Commitment to Developing Indigenous Technology
The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) over the weekend says it is committed to developing the country’s indigenous technology in basic space technology.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Seidu Mohammed, said this at the Space Centre Week and Exhibition of the agency’s Centre for Basic Space Science (CBSS) in Nsukka, Enugu State, with the theme “Basic Space Science for Development”.
Represented by Dr Spencer Onu, the Director, Centre for Satellite Technology Development (CSTD), Mohammed said that the agency was taking steps to ensure that projects and actions were in line with Federal Government’s effort to make Nigeria a knowledge-based economy.
The director-general said that the agency was into production of scientific tools like a telescope to aid sustainable scientific research in the country.
A telescope is an optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear closer which also contains an arrangement of lenses, curved mirrors and lenses.
Telescope also collects rays of light and magnifies focused objects.
Mohammed said that although the cost of funding the production of the telescope was high, the centre would deploy available resources to develop the tool.
He added that “we believe that the telescope proposed by CBSS is very useful and functional to our requirement.
“It has been under construction for four years now but we have to intervene now because two years ago, money was allocated for it but was not approved by the National Assembly.
“Without a telescope, we cannot meet up in terms of research with high impact factor in the global space.
“With the telescope, a lot of high impact researches can be done in Nigeria and other parts of the world.”
The NASRDA boss said that Nigeria needed to leverage on its location on the planet which is close to the equator and utilise the telescope for astronomy.
He further said that basic space science was the first principle in space science “and anything you are doing on the first principle, you are indigenising it.”
Prof. Pius Okeke, the pioneer Director of CBSS, said that the centre was moving in the right direction toward advancing basic space science in spite of minimal funds.
According to him, basic space science is the study and research on the fundamental science of space which leads to the ability to unfold hidden treasures in space.
Okeke said that basic space science required will, motivation and determination to diversify into areas of research yet to be tapped for discoveries.
Similarly, Okeke said the government needed to be willing to properly fund basic space science projects.
He said “it is no longer necessary to educate government about the importance of fundamental research for any developing nation.
“No one builds a house from the air without foundation. Fundamental research in space science should be the starting point for successful development of space technology.
“The temptation to pursue after only application for immediate benefit should be discouraged.”
The former director added that there should be capacity building of scientists in the sector to underscore the country’s dynamics of space science “because no country would disclose the secret of its space science and technology.”
He added that efforts to explain behaviours of several astronomical objects with current physics like neutron stars, climate changes, ionospheric phenomena, cosmic rays, among other objects, was no longer effective.
He called on scientists to be at the front burner of initiating new laws of physics because most revolutionary discoveries of the future come from basic space science.
Highlights of the event included award of recognition to some outstanding staff of CBSS.
Presidents John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria have celebrated the Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., on the occasion of his 72nd birthday.
In congratulatory messages, both leaders praised Dr. Adenuga’s outstanding contributions to the economic development and growth of both Ghana and Nigeria. They commended his remarkable entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and commitment to excellence.
President Mahama described Dr. Adenuga’s life as “a shining example of vision, resilience, and extraordinary accomplishment.” He noted that through his entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Adenuga has not only built enduring businesses but also contributed significantly to the socio-economic advancement of the African continent.
He noted that Dr. Adenuga’s leadership and philanthropic endeavour remain a beacon of inspiration for generations across Africa.
Also President Tinubu stated that Dr. Adenuga’s humility and diligence have enabled him to succeed in various sectors, including banking, telecommunications, oil, and gas. He praised Dr. Adenuga’s innovative approach to business, citing Globacom’s pioneering per-second billing, which expanded telephony and digital access to millions of Nigerians.
“In addition, Conoil has proven that an indigenous firm can compete with international oil companies, fostering energy independence and security for our country.” He added.
President Tinubu who expressed the gratitude of Nigerians to Dr. Adenuga for his immense contributions to the country’s progress and prosperity, also commended him for extending his investments to other African countries and Europe, “a bold effort which earned you well-deserved honours as Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) and Ghana’s Companion of the Star of Ghana”.
Most online services and apps require the user to create a password. Chances are many of those passwords are not being used daily and due to this overabundance, there’s a high probability that many of the passwords are being reused.
Poor password management is compounded by a reliance on common combinations of names, dictionary words and numerals. Not only are these passwords relatively easy to decipher, but if a cybercriminal gains access to a password on one site, that could result in access to a plethora of other sites.
People are urged to create unique, random passwords to counter the vulnerability posed by using the same password multiple times. However, password creation and management can be an arduous task.
To tackle the burden of password creation and management, people might be tempted to use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Llama or DeepSeek to generate their passwords.
The appeal is clear. Rather than struggling to come up with a strong password, users can simply ask AI, “Generate a secure password” and get an instant result.
AI produces strings that look random, which helps avoid the human tendency to create predictable, dictionary-based passwords. But appearances can be deceptive, AI-generated passwords may not be as secure as they appear.
Alexey Antonov, Data Science Team Lead at Kaspersky, tested this by generating 1,000 passwords using some of the more prominent and trusted LLMs including ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Llama (model from Meta group), DeepSeek (newcomer from China).
“All of the models are aware that a good password consists of at least 12 characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. They report this when generating passwords,” says Antonov.
“In practice, though, the algorithms often neglected to insert a special character or digits into the password: 26% of passwords for ChatGPT, 32% for Llama and 29% for DeepSeek. While DeepSeek and Llama sometimes generated passwords shorter than 12 characters.”
In 2024, Alexey Antonov developed a machine learning algorithm to test password strength and found that almost 60% of passwords can be cracked in under an hour using modern GPUs or cloud-based cracking tools.
When applied to AI-generated passwords, the results were alarming, they were far less secure than they appeared: 88% of DeepSeek and 87% of Llama generated passwords were not strong enough to withstand attack from sophisticated cyber criminals. While ChatGPT did a little better with 33% of passwords not strong enough to pass the Kaspersky test.
“The problem is LLMs don’t create true randomness. Instead, they mimic patterns from existing data, making their outputs predictable to attackers who understand how these models work,” notes Antonov.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has introduced a crowd-sourcing initiative aimed at providing more accurate statistical information and data to policymakers and the general public.
According to a statement issued by Folorunso Alesanmi, head of Public Relations, the initiative, which commenced several months ago, involves compiling daily price data from a wide range of sources.
These include open markets, supermarkets, neighbourhood shops, bulk and discount stores, street outlets, and large retail shops.
Data collection has been conducted across all 36 States, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and every senatorial district.
However, the Bureau clarified that price data gathered through crowd-sourcing differs from the data used in computing the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
While CPI data is collected at specific, pre-determined outlets during the second and third weeks of each month, crowd-sourced price data is gathered randomly from different respondents daily.
By leveraging the power of crowd-sourcing, the Bureau has been able to gather a vast amount of data that offers a more nuanced picture of price trends in the economy.
“We are thrilled to release our first price data compiled through crowd-sourcing. This initiative represents a major step forward in our efforts to harness the power of technology and innovation to improve the quality and timeliness of our statistical data,” said Prince Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician-General of the Federation and NBS CEO.
The newly released data offers insights into the prices of essential food items commonly consumed by Nigerians, such as local rice, white beans, white maize, garri, yam, and more. It provides a daily snapshot of food costs.
The NBS plans to update this data on a daily basis, offering entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers a valuable tool for monitoring price fluctuations and making informed decisions.
The data is accessible to the public through a dedicated dashboard, where users can view, analyze, and download it in real-time—enhancing transparency and accessibility.
“To this end, the agency has implemented a range of quality control measures, including data validation and verification processes, to ensure that the data is reliable and trustworthy,” the statement added.
The release of this crowd-sourced price data underscores the NBS’s commitment to innovation and collaboration.
By working with citizens and embracing technology, the Bureau aims to provide more timely and accurate statistics to drive economic growth and development
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