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NREN: How, Why Nigeria Produces Half-Baked Graduates

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Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, Minister of Education
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Flaws in the educational system particularly the unavailability of a national research and education network have been blamed for the mass production of graduates who cannot fit into modern day working environment, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has leant.

The spiraling decay in the system is also attributed to lack of political will on the part of the government; brain-drain; and poor facilities.

Luckily, information and communications technologies (ICTs) experts, some of who are products of Nigeria higher institutions are ringing hope.

First, they x-rayed why Nigeria remained at the outskirts of the changing information age and concluded that government and indeed the school system are to blame.

They were worried that Nigerian graduates leave institutions of higher learning without even touching a computer, leaving them without requisite skills to integrate into the ICT driven business environment.

The experts who gathered for the third EduNet Africa Conference held in Lagos said the way forward is the Research and Education Network (REN).

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that REN is a special Internet service provider that connects research institutions, libraries, universities and other higher institutions of learning.

This special network facilitates the exchange and sharing of information within connected institutions and makes for great research and also enables other services like e-learning, data management, content development, cloud computing, Internet protocol services, and further technology development.

Funke Opeke, CEO, Main One Cable Company, owners of Main One Cable, said the formation of an NREN in the US served as a basis for the creation of the Internet as we know today.

Elsewhere, developing countries have keyed in and the result is the proliferation of RENs like; Kenya Education Network (KENET), TENET –South Africa, EUN –Egypt, RNU – Tunisia, CERIST – Algeria.
All these RENs are backed by political wills of their various home countries.

Others are: UbuntuNet Alliance – an alliance of several southern and eastern African NRENs and EUMEDConnect project, funded by European Union with Links Mediterranean African countries with Europe through GEANT.

Opeke said with approximately 144 governments’ controlled tertiary institutions in Nigeria, none is ranked among the best in the world.

“Universities around the world are ranked by their research output and publications in world renowned journals and books. In the 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s, Nigerian universities were routinely ranked as some of the best in the world. In 2012, of the top 100 universities in Africa, only three Nigerian institutions listed (all below the top 10)” she said.

Nodding in agreement, Biodun Omoniyi, managing director/ CEO, VDT Communications Limited, said broadband Internet is an extremely powerful and fast communications tool for both consumers and businesses, as well as a source of educational and research material.

To ensure that Nigerian graduates are empowered with requisite skills to contribute to nation building, the experts said government must recognize the importance of broadband in the economy and to the everyday life of citizens.

Tosin Amusa, Datacenter/Virtualization and Cloud Solution Architect at Cisco, proposed the use of Cisco CloudVerse for education which according to him will provide the essential architectures, solutions and integrated systems for customers building clouds: public, private and hybrid.

“These include our highly differentiated products such as our unified computing system, our switching and routing products such as Nexus and CRS/ASR/ISR, our cloud enabling services (WaaS, Ace) which radically simplify the building of the cloud infrastructure,” Amusa said.

Pointing at a success model, Omoniyi of VDT said that his company’s partnership with the Lagos State University (LASU) has resulted in a multi-campus university with three major campuses in Ojo Main campus, Epe campus and Surulere campus.

Opeke said various options are under development to form the nucleus of the Nigerian NREN including the government, international assistance and private sector.

She however said that efforts are too slow and there are no compelling incentives for all institutions to join while recognition on a global scale and interconnection with other NRENs is weak or lacking.

She described Some private initiatives Main One is involved with to include wide networks at American University, Yola and Covenant University, Google University Access Programme, University of Nigeria Nsukka, and University of Benin, Opeke said her company has the capacity and reliability.

Muhammed Rudman, CEO of Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) said that all these initiatives can be brought under a single cluster.

Having done the needful, they experts said that the government must now lend its political weight on the educational system to halt the spiraling decay.


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NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

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The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.

The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.

In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.

“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.

“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”

Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.

“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.

17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.


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Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

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Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).

Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.

“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.

She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,

Learning through experience

Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.

Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.

Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.

Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.

The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.

The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.


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CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

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Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.

It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.

Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.

He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.

According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.

“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.

“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”

The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.

He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.

Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.

“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.

“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.

“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.

The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.

All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.


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