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Nigeria in Positive as MEA IT Market Records Mixed fortunes
Contrary to a general trend of decline in ICT equipment and device shipment across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) markets, there was still cheering news in the shipments of blade servers which grew 10.9 per cent across the region, with the biggest annual growth seen in Nigeria, UAE, Pakistan and Oman.
According to latest results published by IDC (International Data Corporation), the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the IT, telecom and consumer technology markets, the overall MEA x86 server market suffered a 5.9 per cent year-on-year decline in unit terms during the first quarter of 2013 but a 3.0 per cent increase in value to reach $321.94 million.
Zeeshan Gaya, research manager for servers and systems at IDC MEA and Turkey said Saudi Arabia continues to be the bright spot among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, registering year-on-year unit growth of 31.0 per cent.
“Deals within the education and government sector were the major contributors to the high uptake. But in sharp contrast, the UAE market experienced a severe decline of 21.5 per cent over the same period, with no sizeable projects taking place in the country.”
Overall, the GCC suffered a drop of 10.8 per cent in volume during Q1 2013 but expanded 4.4 per cent in terms of revenue. Bahrain and Qatar registered double-digit drops in x86 shipments of 28.4 per cent and 17.6 per cent, respectively.
Key initiatives in the banking sector accelerated Oman’s growth by 12.6 per cent in volume and 58.2 per cent in revenue, year on year.
Kuwait remained mostly flat for the quarter, expanding 1.4 per cent in volume on the back of a few deals in the education and government sectors.
The downward trend continued in the North African market in Q1 2013, with shipments to the region declining 25.1 per cent year on year. “In Morocco, there was shrinkage in the number of deals taking place in both the public and private sectors during the quarter, with several key projects either resized with smaller budgets or simply postponed,” said Gaya.
“The government and the oil and gas sector remain the highest spending verticals in Algeria and Tunisia, although the first quarter of the year was very slow in both countries, with very few projects taking place.”
As previously forecast, the South African x86 server market experienced a year-on-year unit decline of 11.7 per cent.
IDC observed that the main drivers for the country market in Q1 2013 were the business services, government, finance, and retail sectors.
“Telecom operators are continuing to invest in server infrastructure to expand their datacenters as they seek to diversify their service offerings, largely around readiness for cloud service delivery as the demand for cloud services start unfolding,” said Gaya.
“The small and medium-sized business (SMB) space continues to show demand for servers as such organizations are late deployers’ of server virtualization and IT infrastructure renewals. The public sector was also relatively active in Q1 2013 as national governments headed towards their budget deadlines and allocated additional spending to clear up any remaining funds.”
The overall negative trend was observed uniformly across all form factors in the MEA region. Towers took the biggest hit, suffering a 15.5 per cent decline in shipments year on year, followed by rack and density-optimized servers, which slumped 8.7 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.
Contrary to this trend, shipments of blade servers grew 10.9 per cent across the MEA region, with the biggest annual growth seen in the UAE, Pakistan, Oman, and Nigeria.
Eight-socket servers took a hit in the first quarter of the year, recording a year-on-year volume decline of 41.8 per cent.
One-socket and two–socket server shipments shrunk by 9.1 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively. Two-socket servers remain the dominant capability, comprising more than half the MEA market with 70.3 per cent volume share.
News
IHS Nigeria, UNICEF Donate Oxygen Plant to Bridge Health Gap in River State

IHS Nigeria and its implementing partner, the United Nations Child Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed satisfaction that the Oxygen Plant recently donated to Rivers State is helping to bridge the health Gap in the state and its environs.
This observation was made recently when officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, carried out a project inspection visit to the plant located at the General Hospital in Eleme, Rivers State.
During the handing over of the oxygen plant to the Rivers State Government in 2024, the facility was reported to have a production capacity of 123 oxygen cylinders and 720,000 litres of oxygen every 24 hours.
The plant was built under a Public-Private Partnership involving UNICEF, the Canadian Government, IHS Nigeria, in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health through the State Hospital Management Board.
Speaking during the visit to the facility yesterday, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, noted that the oxygen plant has saved lives and is helping to bridge health gaps in the eight other states where similar plants are located.
She further explained that the visit reflects the organisation’s commitment “not only to create opportunities for impact but to also continue supporting the healthcare industry by carrying out such interventions that directly impact individuals and saves lives. This plant is one of the nine oxygen plants we have built across the federation,” she said.
“We are particularly excited that it is helping to bridge health gaps—not just in Rivers State and its environs, but in all the states where the plants are currently located.”
Oguntuga informed that in terms of sustainability “we focus our intervention sustainability on four pillars; ethics and governance, education and economic growth, environment and climate change and finally, people and communities”.
She added that “the visit to the Rivers State oxygen plant is to have an assessment of how well the plant is functioning, the impact it is currently making and to generally understand how the operation is going”.
On his part, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Port Harcourt, Dr Anslem Audu, stated that the plant has been very functional and useful to the people of Rivers State. According to him, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of patients needed oxygen and oxygen was not available. So many children will come down with pneumonia and it will become an emergency, they will need oxygen, but oxygen is not available in the hospital. But with this plant now available no child will die because of lack of oxygen in the hospital. The era of lack of oxygen is no longer there.
Audu added that “You can practically visit any of the hospitals in Port Harcourt and find out that they have oxygen and the product is from this plant all thanks to IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government and UNICEF”.
The UNICEF field officer, who confirmed that the plant is functioning optimally, said it is producing enough oxygen for the state’s needs.
In his words, “The partnership between these three organizations and the Ministry of Health in Rivers State has really worked, and we are reaping the benefits of the partnership.
He urged the implementing partners, especially the government, to also invest in the sustainability of the facility by providing a source of electricity for the plant to be more functional.
Earlier, the Medical Director Eleme General Hospital, Dr Leechi-Okere Clarabelle, noted that since the day of the unveiling, the plant has been functioning very well. Commenting on impact he noted that “We’ve had success stories whereby oxygen is distributed to public hospitals in the state, including the two teaching hospitals in the state and then we have also extended distribution to some private hospitals within the state.
“We have two hubs that serve as storage and distribution points because of the location of the plant. We produce here and store somewhere in Port Harcourt so that people who come from a far distance can get oxygen from these hubs.
News
JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate of manipulating his identity and engaging in online blackmail.
Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, JAMB, issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.
He said one Chinedu Okeke, currently a 400-level Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), gained admission in 2021 while claiming to be from Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos state.
JAMB said Okeke’s national identification number (NIN) records from 2021 confirm his Lagos origin.
The board stated it does not alter candidate information provided through NIN.
The board, however, said the 400-level student, who is facing potential challenges for incorrect credentials, is now claiming that it retrieved the wrong details for him from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2021.
“[This] is unequivocally false, aimed at fabricating a defence for his case,” Benjamin said.
“The evidence suggests that Chinedu altered his records as filled in 2021 before registering for the 2025 UTME, a fact confirmed by even his advocates.”
The board questioned why a 400-level medical student would seek to study mechanical engineering in 2025, especially with “inconsistencies in his claims.”
JAMB alleged that Okeke “took advantage” of Lagos state’s quota in 2021, thereby obstructing the admission opportunities for other deserving candidates from the state.
It added that he then “attempted to manipulate his details with the NIMC” to unjustly claim representation from Anambra state in 2025.
The board criticised “online advocates” for “actively reaching out to Chinedu’s parents to extract emotional narratives rather than factual clarifications, neglecting to seek information directly from the university.”
JAMB affirmed its commitment to maintaining accurate records and preventing candidates from exploiting loopholes.
It warned that if UNN confirms any inconsistencies, it would notify the Medical and Dental Council to consider delisting Okeke.
“When a nation trivialises illegalities, it breeds a future fraught with potential criminality,” Benjamin’s statement concluded.
News
Check Point Report Finds Africa as Top Target for Cyber-attacks

Africa has become the most targeted region globally for cyber-attacks in the first quarter of 2025, according to new research from Check Point Software Technologies. The company’s Q1 2025 Global Cyber Attack Report reveals a steep rise in malicious activity as the continent continues to accelerate its Digital transformation.
Ethiopia emerged as the most targeted country in Africa during the reporting period. FakeUpdates ranked as the most common malware, while 80% of malicious files across the continent were delivered via e-mail. In contrast, 62% of threats in SA were distributed via the web.
On average, organisations in Africa faced 3 325 cyber-attacks per week – a staggering 72% above the global average of 1 938 attacks per organisation.
Check Point Software unpacked the findings at a media roundtable in Johannesburg. Eli Smadja, global research group manager at Check Point, provided a detailed overview of Africa’s evolving cyber threat landscape, which he said is increasingly defined by AI-powered threats, ransomware, infostealers, edge device vulnerabilities and cloud-based risks.
Among the most concerning developments was the discovery of a previously undocumented multi-stage backdoor, dubbed Stealth Soldier, currently being deployed in cyber operations targeting North African government entities. The malware forms part of a broader command-and-control infrastructure used in spear-phishing campaigns.
Smadja noted a growing trend in malware designed to bypass AI detection systems.
“These aren’t aimed at advanced large language models (LLMs), but rather at lower-level ones,” he said. “It’s about LLM evasion – fooling the AI and manipulating prompts.”
Despite the increasing use of AI in cyber security, Smadja cautioned against over-reliance on AI-driven defence systems. “AI still requires human prompting.”
Check Point is advocating for a zero trust model and a holistic, automated and consolidated approach to cyber security. This includes centralised threat visibility and simplified controls to protect against ransomware, phishing, data theft and vulnerabilities at the edge.
“Just having something at the perimeter isn’t enough,” Smadja said. “Cyber-attacks are not just targeting PCs or servers anymore. For instance, we’ve seen state-sponsored attacks aimed at fuel pumps to disrupt national supply chains.”
He highlighted the importance of understanding external risk – threats originating outside the organisation – especially as AI-driven ransomware and attacks on third-party service providers continue to rise.
“Printers, for example, are a major attack vector,” he added. “They’re often network-connected, and threat actors can exploit them to gain broader access.”
Credentials, Smadja noted, are also a lucrative commodity on the dark web, often selling for around $500.
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