News
23 Years After, Obasanjo was Right on Zinox
By Ayodele Adigun
It was a weather-friendly Tuesday morning on October 9, 2001 at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos. History was made in Nigeria. Zinox, a wholly indigenous tech brand, was launched with many firsts and unique features. The brainchild of Forbes Best of Africa’s Tech Icon, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, it had the blessings of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, an African statesman of peerless courage.
The event was attended by dignitaries from both the public and private sectors, diplomats and representatives of multinational computer brands.
The then Vice President Atiku Abubakar was Special Guest of Honour, while President of the Senate at that time, Rt. Hon. Anyim Pius Anyim, was Chairman of the occasion. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then Governor of Lagos State, was chief host. Lagos was on lockdown literally, from the Island to the mainland as many governors, ministers, senators and members of the National Assembly, top corporate moguls, the leadership of the different labour unions, led by Adam Oshiomhole, then President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, were in attendance.
Beyond the razzmatazz of the colourful launch, Zinox more than justified the confidence Obasanjo reposed in Ekeh and the brand. It did not just transform into a formidable African brand, it scored many firsts, a salute to the legendary innovative entrepreneurial skill of Ekeh and his team and a testament to the outstanding leadership clairvoyance of Obasanjo. It is safe to say that in Zinox, Obasanjo saw the future.
After the launch, Obasanjo invited the management to Aso Rock and endorsed the Zinox brand as a national pride. It was no surprise that Obasanjo branded Ekeh: “Icon of Hope,” on October 1, 2002, as a role model to future Nigerian digital entrepreneurs, a fitting cap for an exemplar of the true Nigerian spirit of chutzpah, excellence, innovation, humility and integrity.
True, President Obasanjo achieved a lot in the ICT ecosystem from the introduction of the GSM genre of telephony via one of the most transparent mobile digital auctions administered by Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, to the creation of several indigenous computer assembly plants. But it was obvious that Zinox brand and its promoter, Ekeh, occupied a huge space in the President’s heart. Obasanjo boldly flaunted the Zinox brand, travelling the world with it, not just as a user but as a national brand and pride and was never shy to show it to other world leaders that Nigerians can also produce computers.
In one of his books, Obasanjo is a prolific writer, it has to be said, he celebrated Ekeh as a model for Nigerian youths. He topped the presidential adulation for Ekeh with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic, one of the high-ranking honours of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Obasanjo never hid his admiration for Ekeh or his pride in his accomplishments as an indigenous player with global clout. On one occasion when President Obasanjo was hosting the nation’s captains of industry at State House, he singled out Ekeh and openly prayed for him, showering him with presidential blessings and publicly affirming his positive impact on Nigerian youths as a man who is living the Nigerian dream with hard work.
On account of the reliability of the Zinox brand and Obasanjo’s matchless sense of patriotism, he directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to standardise on Zinox and equivalent indigenous brands. This gave a spur to the growth of the Zinox brand and it became the preferred brand in the industry among public and private sector officials.
Zinox at 23 is beyond a celebration of an African brand. It is a celebration of uniqueness, doggedness, resilience and entrepreneurial majesty of an African who dared the digital nerds of the advanced economies and succeeded in creating digital mills in and across Africa. But more significantly, Ekeh singlehandedly turned global attention to Nigeria.
And just by Ekeh’s stroke of genius, Zinox scored many firsts. The first internationally certified indigenous computer brand in West Africa and the first computer brand in the world to incorporate the Naira sign (N) on its keyboard. First Original Equipment Manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa to receive Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Lab Certification; first Microsoft Prime Production Online Automation Partner in Sub-Saharan Africa with the OA Version 3.0; first Intel Premium Partner; first OEM in West Africa to attain the ISO 9001-2015 Certification; first to acquire the Google Mobile Application Distribution Agreement in West Africa; first OEM in Nigeria to introduce renewable energy and lifestyle products and attaining the status of Intel Platinum Partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 23 years, Zinox has become one of a kind, unique in name, quality, global competitiveness and readiness for the market. The high-profile stature of its launch said it all. Zinox is truly like no other indigenous brand.
Atiku, a retired Customs Officer, widely travelled businessman and nationalist, underscored the seriousness of the Zinox brand at the launch. He said: “I have been in both public and private sector. I have travelled widely and have witnessed the launch of products and services across the world but nowhere in the world have I seen a product launch of this magnitude and type. Zinox has just made a huge marketing statement out of Nigeria that would be heard in the rest of Africa and around the globe.”
Atiku gushed as he addressed the enraptured and sufficiently excited audience. An elated Atiku spoke glowingly about the Zinox project, describing it as a perfect example of backward integration which sits well with the Federal Government policy of looking inward to boost the nation’s primary sector. He saluted Ekeh and his team for their ingenuity and tech-savvy showmanship.
An excited Oshiomhole, who launched the “Computerise Nigeria Project”, a social project at the event by Zinox meant to democratise the ownership of computers to the unreached and under-reached, described Ekeh as a “digital militant”.
A good 23 years after, Atiku deserves to be called a master of clairvoyance. As he predicted 23 years ago, Zinox’s influence has spread across Africa and beyond.
The public presentation of Zinox range of products was beyond a product launch. It was a loud statement on the sovereignty of Nigeria. In the 21st century, no nation is truly sovereign without her home-grown tech identity and sufficiency. Ekeh sings this as his abiding song: the need to create a truly Nigerian IT identity.
Ekeh is a serial digital disruptor, an incurable challenger of status quo. And Zinox is a product of both personal determination and patriotism. It was born to break protocol and discard stereotype. It answered the question: Can anything good come out of Nigeria?
Ekeh says with a sense of national pride and self-satisfaction: “We showed that in Nigeria, it’s possible to create technology that is smart, competitive and stands shoulder to shoulder with any of its kind across the globe. We went a step further in domesticating the technology behind Zinox. We conceptualised and built into the systems stabilizers and surge protectors to take care of our peculiar challenges of irregular electricity supply and the problems associated with switching from Alternating Current (AC – national grid) to Direct Current (DC-generators). What gives me joy above monetary reward is that today when our children hear about Zinox, they have a sense of self-belief because they have been to our plant and they now know there’s nothing so special about the computer and the technology behind it.”
So far, Zinox has proven both competence and capacity at home and other parts of Africa. It was the preferred technology that powered several mega projects including the 8th All Africa Games codenamed COJA 2003; the 18th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Nigeria in 2003; All-Africa University Games held in Bauchi in 2004; and 7th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Africa Union held in The Gambia in 2006. It has also undertaken critical interventions by transforming the Nigeria and Guinea Bissau electoral systems from analogue to digital. The conduct of Nigeria general elections in 2007 and 2011 is a good example. Zinox has also fully provided the technology for the postponed national census.
A quintessential family man, Ekeh has stayed deep-rooted in the ICT space. His wife, Lady Chioma Ekeh, a mathematician and chartered accountant, oversees the biggest tech distribution company in sub-Sahara Africa, TD Africa. His first son, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, aka The Prince of Konga, with MBA from Oxford, leads Konga, the ecommerce giant, which he acquired through his company, Yudala, in one of the most ambitious and seamless acquisitions in Africa’s tech history.
His first daughter, Gozy Ajogun, nee Ekeh, an alumnus of London School of Economics, oversees Task Systems, an ICT solutions firm under the Zinox Group. T second daughter, Chidalu Ekeh, with Masters in Digital Marketing from Imperial College, London, is a Fintech whiz, while his other two younger sons also play in the tech space.
Ekeh has built a digital family rooted in ICT. He has added digital value to Africa, but the best of them all is the gift of Zinox, for which the nation is grateful.
. Adigun, an Associate Professor of Mechatronics, writes from Lagos.
News
RMRDC Urges Investors to Patronise Research Outputs, Embrace Domestic Resource Based Manufacturing
The Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) is wooing Nigerian investors to patronise its research outputs by embracing domestic resource based manufacturing that would end Nigeria’s industrial dependency.
The RMRDC made at the Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment/Nigerian Raw Materials (NME/NIRAM) Expo 2025 through its Director Agricultural and Agro Allied Raw Materials Department, Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr. Sab C. Ebiriekwe, and the Managing Director of Jola Global Industries Limited, Dr. Moses Omojola, who was formerly a director with RMRDC.
They pointed out that the Nigerian manufacturing sector is relying on importation for over 75 per cent of its industrial inputs while about 80 per cent of manufacturing firms in Nigeria are owned by foreigners.
Ebiriekwe said in his presentation titled “Harnessing Local Resources: Enhancing Value Addition Through Innovation in Raw Material Sourcing” that Nigeria is grappling with industrial dependency despite being endowed with vast natural resources, adding that no country industrialises sustainably without local raw material transformation through innovation.
He said that despite the abundance of local raw materials, only 35 per cent of local manufacturers in Nigeria could rely on steady access to local raw materials.
He added that a gap exists between research outcome and practical application as “only 5.0 per cent of research outputs reach commercialisation.”
According to him, Nigeria’s failure to beneficiate and industrialise its raw material is hindering its bid for economic diversification, jobs creation and export competitiveness.
“As value of industrial raw material imported in 2023 was N2.41 trillion; share of imported manufacturing inputs are over 75 per cent and non-oil export is dominated by unprocessed raw/agro products.”
Omojola, who retired as a director with RMRDC, said during the panel session that about 80 per cent of industries in Nigeria are owned by foreigners, especially Asians.
He asked: “How come Nigerians are going into manufacturing? I have lectured in the university and have worked in RMRDC for 25 years but I told myself that it will be disservice to leave RMRDC without taking home one project. And to the glory of God I am today a manufacturer in Ekiti State.”
According to him, manufacturing “is very stressful but more rewarding,” which is the reason Asians are coming to Nigeria? “When I ask my Asian friends why they are in Nigeria they will reply that Nigeria is good. And now that I have started manufacturing, I have known that Nigeria is good,” he said.
Omojola also challenged politicians to invest the money they have made from politics into manufacturing in order to create more jobs in the economy.
“We should be going into resource based industry. I produce vegetable oil. Today, Indonesia and Malaysia cannot bring in vegetable oil into Nigeria because our own price is cheaper than their own. Therefore, no imported vegetable oil can compete with us,” he said.
The Founder of AfricanFarmer Discovery Hub, Mr. AfricanFarmer Mogaji, said that chemical extracted from water leaf had been used to coat mugs by Oluwa Glass in Ondo State.
“That was innovation. But unfortunately, it was not scaled. In Ibadan, the shell of the cashew nut had been used in making brake pads. We can revisit these innovations at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) level,” Mogaji said.
He also urged retire military generals to invest in manufacturing like their counterparts in Malaysia that funded Malaysia’s turn around.
However, the Managing Director of Spectra Industries Limited, Mr. Duro Kuteyi, said that absence of government’s policies that could protect the SMEs is one of the reasons Nigerians are not going into manufacturing.
Kuteyi said: “Unless government will come up with policy the way India is protecting its products and SMEs, it will take time for us to grow.
“I started using Nigerian raw materials to make products like natural cocoa powder that is good for diabetics, hypertension, etc. We also use soya as one of our basic raw materials.
“But as it is currently, SMEs are finding it difficult in the market place where they are competing with multinationals that are ready to kill them and kill them totally.
“A multinationals firm went to the market and offered generators to my customers to stop dealing on my products.”
The Managing Director of FACCO West Africa, Mr. Femi Adelayo, said that wealthy Nigerians should be encouraged to embrace manufacturing rather than buying houses in Dubai.
Adelayo also said that manufacturers should be supported with a holistic robust policy to ensure their survival and enable Nigeria to withstand the emerging global trade dynamics that is being characterised by punitive tariffs.
He appealed to the RMRDC to help his livestock feed manufacturing firm with raw materials that could substitute for maize and soya. He said: “We work in the feed mill industry where we produce livestock feeds. But maize and soya are major challenges. We will like RMRDC to help us to have alternative protein production.”
News
Zinox Chairman Leo Stan Ekeh Donates State-of-the-Art Tech Experience Centre to Federal University Birnin Kebbi
Federal University Birnin Kebbi (FUB) received a significant boost in its quest to produce globally competitive graduates, following the donation of a multimillion-naira Tech Experience Centre by the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation (LSEF).
The facility, donated by Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Group and Founder of LSEF, was commissioned on his behalf by the President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Dr. Muhammad Sirajo Aliyu, FNCS.
The centre is equipped with the latest Zinox computers, powered by the iPower renewable energy suite, which features high-performance solar panels and certified lithium batteries. It is also connected to a 24-hour, non-disruptive satellite internet service powered by Starlink, a service that the LSEF has committed to funding for the next five years.
According to Mr. Ekeh, the Tech Experience Centre is dedicated to the use of students and knowledge workers at FUB, with the aim of equipping them with the digital skills and resources required to compete with their peers globally and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development.
This centre is one of several cutting-edge technology hubs donated by the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation to tertiary institutions across Nigeria. It supports the Federal Government’s vision to upgrade the nation’s higher institutions to world-class standards.
For over 25 years, Mr. Ekeh and the Zinox Group have consistently invested in promoting digital education by donating tech laboratories and innovation hubs. In recent years, the Foundation has delivered and equipped centres at St. Augustine University, Lagos, and Imo State University and refurbished older facilities it had donated in the past. According to Mr. Ekeh, the next phase will see the Foundation extend similar interventions to secondary schools across the country.
He called on politicians, government agencies, and wealthy Nigerians to intentionally invest in the nation’s education sector, stressing that a well-educated populace is the Foundation for national development.
Mr. Ekeh expressed his appreciation to the Chairman of the University Council, the council members, Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammad Zaiyan Umar, members of the University Management, staff, and students of FUB, as well as the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for their support in accommodating the LSEF’s vision.
Speaking on behalf of the university, Professor Muhammad Zaiyan Umar, Vice Chancellor of FUB, expressed deep appreciation to Mr. Ekeh and the LSEF for the generous donation.
“This Tech Experience Centre will make a remarkable difference in the academic and research output of our students and staff. We are grateful for Mr. Ekeh’s vision, generosity, and long-standing contributions to this institution and to digital education in Nigeria. This facility is more than a building with computers; it is an investment in the future of our graduates and the growth of our nation.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the commissioning, Mr. Chimezie Orisakwe, Head of Corporate Communications for the Zinox Group, highlighted Mr. Ekeh’s sustained promotion of digital learning across Nigeria — from interventions in the media sector to landmark projects with the media, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Population Commission (NPC), and others.
He also highlighted Mr. Ekeh’s reflection on the current state of Nigeria’s education sector, warning that many institutions, both public and private, face severe funding deficits. This, he noted, raises the risk of closures, which would deprive graduates of the enduring legacy of their alma maters.
To address these challenges, the Zinox Chairman proposed that the Federal Government adopt a college system and reclassify existing universities. He recommended granting approvals for specialized professional colleges affiliated with reputable universities, similar to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) model with the University of Lagos.
Ekeh emphasized that the quality of an institution’s academic content now matters more than its physical size. Those passionate about establishing tertiary institutions must be focused on their core mission, be willing to invest adequately, and possess the mental and financial capacity to sustain standards.
He further urged that educational institutions be regulated even more stringently than banks, given their central role in producing the human capital that drives both the public and private sectors.
“Educational institutions are not limited liability companies that can be liquidated at will. Their true profit is not in short-term returns but in the quality of graduates they produce, men and women who can lead this nation and give back to the institutions that shaped them,” Ekeh stated.
The donation to FUB is the latest in a long list of interventions by the Zinox Group to support Nigeria’s technological advancement. Through the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation, the Group has also funded thousands of scholarships, donated modern digital learning facilities nationwide, extended non-interest loans to budding entrepreneurs, and supported churches, hospitals, and humanitarian causes.
Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) Act has introduced strict penalties for the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information and documents by its staff, with offenders facing fines of up to N5 million, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
The NRS Act is one of four bills recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, alongside the Nigeria Tax (Fair Taxation) Law, the Nigeria Tax Administration Law, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Law. The regulations will take effect on January 1, 2026.
In Part VI of the NRS Act, covering miscellaneous provisions, the law designates all internal records—including institutional information, memoranda, and communications—as confidential.
“Without prejudice to the provisions of any other Act concerning data privacy or data protection, institutional information or communication, all internal information, communications, documents or memoranda of the Service are confidential,” the law states.
It further warns that, “Except as otherwise provided under this Act, any other law or any enabling agreement or arrangement or as otherwise authorised by the Executive Chairman or management of the Service, any person who discloses or attempts to disclose institutional information, communication, document or memorandum of the Service is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.”
The provision applies to all officials and individuals involved in the administration of the Act. The NRS also specified that business records, tax returns, notices, assessments, and documents relating to a person’s assets, liabilities, or profits must be “treated as secret.”
Exceptions to the confidentiality rule include disclosures authorised by the service, those mandated by court order, or situations where the information is needed for the enforcement of Nigeria’s tax laws.
The development follows a February 20, 2024, warning from the federal government cautioning civil servants in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) against leaking sensitive documents to the public.
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