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Piracy is Killing Nigerian Economy-Onyeje
Emmanuel Onyeje, country manager, Microsoft (Nigeria), has warned that piracy, particularly in the IT industry pose a huge problem to the Nigeria’s economy.
Onyeje also spoke of efforts by Microsoft to tackle the unarmed but lethal gang of pirates that left trails of tears, sweat and blood.
The Microsoft executive who spoke at the company’s ‘Play Fair Day in Lagos’ said the aim of the event was to further intensify awareness around the dangers of purchasing and deploying pirated products, and discourse its militating effects on the individual, businesses and economy with focus on proffering workable solutions.
He bemoaned negligence on the part of consumers who pave way for pirates by patronizing cheap or free download software.
According to him, over 60 per cent of personal computer world wide are likely to be affected in the acts of hacking which fuels piracy acts.
Onyeje said that the entertainment industry in Nigeria which has become a job creation haven is currently the worse hit.
“It is a subject that is very dear to my heart. It is not really about software. That is why we also brought people from the same industry to talk about this, because it impacts every aspect of our lives. The entertainment industry in Nigeria is one of the largest globally; creates jobs, showcases what Nigeria can do; create opportunities for youths to showcase their talents in singing, writing, acting and other creative arts.
“We as Nigerians are killing our own industries. That is why Nigeria is not providing the platform for the people to excel globally; because we as individuals allow piracy to continue. Piracy has many damaging index, but the most important is economic. All of us know that the most important topic in the country today is how to make the economy more sustainable. Issues like poverty rate, Boko Haram, MEND threats, will actually die down if we focus on poverty. Our long term security agenda should be on how to create more jobs and how to sustain the economy. When you are doing that, you need economic engine to drive the job creation agenda, especially the industries that can grow at a rapid rate.
“We have 70 million people, which industry can absorb them? However, we need to focus on the skills that those individuals can do. Thus, the intellectual property industry provides the opportunities for the people to create, but piracy does not allow them to thrive,” he said.
“But then they are a very important point, the hackers. Piracy helps hackers win. We all know we want better service from banks and the government. Then to provide that they need to invest in information technology. Get more computerized, but to do that they open up themselves to be hacked. The key thing the hacker does is to get into the companies’ or government’s computing power.
“But due to their inability of invest in huge technologies they offer the general consumers free something to download; they use that tool to compromise the security codes in your computer. Millions of people download this software. Then the hacker has access to millions of computers to use and perpetuate crimes. So, the broth-force empowers them to work. By then the consumer has helped the hacker to continue to do destructive things,” he maintained.
He said, “On top of that, people will not be able to properly use their PCs. Over 60% of PC users will be affected this year, because they are not aware what goes on underneath. But all of us have roles to play in educating the consumers”.
On her part, the Rita Amuchinwe, supply manager, HP, Anglophone Africa, said from the suppliers view (the Inks and toners), as HP producers, “We have very big issue in that area. Specifically, we have been taking practical steps to eradicate this. We have been talking to the press, running campaigns, provided solutions to it. Presently, it has been cut down to a very low number.”
To tackle the issue, Amuchinwa said that HP had invented a product authentication platform called QR CODE, which enables smartphone users at the point of purchase to authenticate the originality 0f the products.
“For those with feature phones or laptop users, they can download the application and whenever they go to the retailer, they will able to go the website through the code to authenticate,” she added.
She regretted that buying fake toners and other IT gadgets have caused consumers havoc in the recent past.
“It can damage the printer and the person automatically loses the manufacturer’s warrantee. We have also identified distributors that people can patronize. On our website we specified their offices and numbers to reach them. Virtually everybody is selling HP, but we are more interested in the consumers getting the right product,” Amuchinwa said.
Prior to the entrance of the Microsoft in Nigeria Africa’s second-largest economy, there had been a wide spread use of unlicensed Windows software in the country both by private businesses and individuals, however, Microsoft said through it 365 cloud computing solution, the issue is being tackled.
Microsoft Nigeria, through Play it Safe plans to x-ray existing Anti-Piracy laws in Nigeria and their effectiveness, industry collaboration in reducing piracy as well as the need for stronger laws to protect the new crop of developers and their inventions.
Questions have been mounting over the House of Representatives threat to order the arrest of the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mrs. Bisoye Coker-Odusote for failure to appear before it to answer charges on refusal to pay for a state-of-the-art software development project executed by a private company, Truid Limited, for NIMC.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions had invited the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, to appear before it to explain the commission’s failure to pay for the state-of-the art software development project executed by the private company, Truid Limited for NIMC. However, the NIMC DG has repeatedly failed to honour the committee’s invitation in person.
The Committee’s Chairman, Honourable Mike Etaba, who was angered by the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote’s failure to appear before the committee to personally answer charges on the matter after repeated invitations, last month, issued a stern warning to order the Inspector-General of Police, to arrest the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote if she refused to appear before the committee at its next hearing, which was fixed for March 13, 2025.
However, it has been over two weeks after the Committee’s sitting of March 13, 2025; yet, there are no indications that the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, honoured the committee’s invitation by personally appearing before it. The committee also appears to have failed to order the IGP to arrest her, leading to many raising questions over the seriousness of the committee to execute its threats. Others wonder why the chief executive of a government agency would refuse to personally appear before the House of Representatives to answer charges on a petition regarding the agency’s activities.
During its sitting of February 11, 2025 the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions threatened to order the arrest of the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bisoye Coker-Odusote.
The committee said it would actualise the threat if Mrs. Coker-Odusote failed to come in person to answer charges on her refusal to pay for the state-of-the-art software development project.
Chairman of the committee, Mike Etaba, frowned at the continuous absence of the NIMC director-general despite several invitations.
In a statement by the Media Head, Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives, Chooks Oko, the Chairman of the Committee stated: “If she fails to show up at the next hearing of this case, we’ll have no option than to ask the Inspector-General of Police to bring her.
“How can an official of government treat constituted authority with such levity? We can no longer condone such attitude,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was installed and deployed to the commission by a private firm, Truid Limited, which was alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC.
The statement added that the private company, Truid Limited, which executed the state-of-the-art software development project, is alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC, noting that E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, stated that the contract is premised on an arrangement whereby the Truid Limited funded, developed and deployed the “tokenization system project” without any financial obligation from NIMC.
According to E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, the agreement is premised on an arrangement that the project would be funded by the firm.
“Truid Ltd was to get returns on her investment through patronage of service providers and the proceeds shared on an agreed ratio. This was to run for an initial period of 10 years, from 2021 when the software was deployed,” Opara said.
According to the petition, things were going smoothly until the appointment of the new DG of NIMC, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, who has been trying to truncate the agreement.
When contacted to comment on whether or not the DG NIMC has personally appeared before the committee, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Honourable Mike Etaba said: “For now, that matter has been stepped down!”
Honourable Etaba explained further why the matter was stepped down: “We are now taking that case on an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) route. That’s where the matter is now,” he said, adding, “the Committee is silent on it (the matter) until they give us the report of the ADR. That is when we will know what next to do.”
Asked when the ADR resolution he mentioned is meant to be concluded, Honourable Etaba stated: “I can’t say for now how and when the ADR will come up. That’s the situation of the case for now.”
The Lagos State Governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commended Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia Nigeria, for its giant strides and in the growth of the country’s e-commerce sector, as well as its unique contributions to its economic development.
He said that Jumia has earned its place as a major brand, with its growth and trajectory in the country’s e-commerce ecosystem over the years which, he said, has made it a household name. He urged the company to not only strive to maintain its excellent service standards, but to also work towards improving them.
The Governor who was speaking during a courtesy visit by the management of Jumia Nigeria to the State House in Marina on Thursday March 27, reaffirmed the strategic importance of the company in the economic development of Lagos State and Nigeria, especially in job creation.
He restated his administration’s commitment in ensuring that Lagos State remains environmentally friendly for businesses to grow.
“Our administration has always prioritized creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Through various initiatives, we have strengthened the ease of doing business, and fostered innovation to drive economic growth, and we will continue to support businesses and create opportunities that will aid in their growth”, Sanwo-Olu said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said that the Lagos State Government remains open to collaborations with the private sector to enhance service delivery, infrastructure development, and create opportunities for residents, with the aim of building a resilient and sustainable future.
He said the administration recognises the importance of working with the private sector to achieve its goals of improving the lives of its citizens.
Speaking also, the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Sunil Natraj, thanked the governor for creating an enabling environment in the state for businesses like Jumia to grow. He stated Jumia’s commitment to contributing towards the growth and development of the state, and the country.
Natraj said the company has made tremendous strides from its early days as a tech start-up in Lagos and has grown to become the number one e-commerce platform in Nigeria, with a presence in nine African countries. He said the company presently employs hundreds of Nigerians directly, and thousands more indirectly as independent sales agents and partners.
He restated Jumia Nigeria’s commitment to providing excellent service, focusing on delivering exceptional value and fostering long-term relationships with its customers around the country.
Among other things, he said the company is actively working to enhance customer experience, aiming to simplify the e-commerce process, making it easier for customers to navigate and shop online.
According to him, Jumia aims to transform everyday life in Africa by making it easier for consumers to access goods and services conveniently and affordably, adding that the company is focused on expanding access to retail across the country.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced its readiness for the capital market with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) now in the final stage.
Mr. Olugbenga Oluwaniyi, chief finance and investor relations officer (CFIO), NNPC, stated this at a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday.
He said the move aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
He said NNPCL was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged: “NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade” in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the IPO.
According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade is to assess potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.
He listed the areas of partnership required to include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisors, and Investment Bank Partners.
He said the company with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
The PIA provides for NNPCL to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
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