Broadcasting
All you Need to Know About PMI’s 2022 Africa Conference Held in Lagos
Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading association for project professionals, hosted over 300 delegates from 20 African countries at its recently concluded PMI Africa Conference 2022.
L-R: Paul Omugbe, President, PMI Nigeria Chapter; George Asamani, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Project Management Institute (PMI) and Joe Cahill, Chief Customer Officer (CCO), Project Management Institute (PMI) at the 7th annual PMI Africa Conference in Lagos.
The 2-day conference took place at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos and saw key stakeholders discuss the evolving nature of project management, the project economy, the impact of new technology, and the custom certifications PMI is developing to meet new demands in specific industries.
The highlight of the conference was the conversations around youth, led by the youth, for the youth who raised and discussed issues around entrepreneurship, education, and employability. The conference achieved its objective of promoting project management as fundamental to building thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems, high-performing workplaces, and societies.
Organised under the theme, “Sustainable Growth for Social Good,” all the speakers, which included Africa’s leading and inspiring thought leaders, educators, entrepreneurs and changemakers, agreed that for Africa to grow sustainably, strategic changes in education, national policies, youth empowerment and corporate culture are needed.
George Asamani, MD, Sub Saharan Africa, PMI, said that next year’s edition, the 8th PMI Africa Conference, will be hosted in Kenya in partnership with the PMI Kenya Chapter.
Noted South African journalist and Executive Director of Marketing & Communications, University of Limpopo, Victor Kgomoeswana, opened his keynote by quoting anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. Kgomoeswana reminded delegates of Biko’s words, “It is better to die for an idea that will live than to live for something that will die.’’
Kgomoeswana remarked that Africa is endowed with biodiversity, mineral resources, tourist potential and cultural heritage in abundance. In addition, the significant growth recorded in Africa despite the Covid-19 pandemic can be attributed to cross-border trade and internet penetration.
In his view, African leaders and changemakers must focus on developing a population with problem-solving skills.
“We need to change our perception and attitude. No goal can be achieved without good project management. It is a skill that should be instilled in basic education. All problem-solving today in Africa requires project management of some kind.”
Simi Nwogugu, CEO of Junior Achievement Africa, said that the youth on the continent need to develop 21st-century skills and cultivate a spirit of volunteering. The youth will have to develop an entrepreneurial mindset to stave off a talent crisis in the project economy.
“If entrepreneurship is not for you, skills like design thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and innovation can help you get the available jobs. Mentoring is also key because if you are working with the youth, especially teenagers, they need relatable role models. For this, we bring volunteers into the classroom. There is no single way to succeed; it is a combination of your talent and innovation the world needs that can provide an income.”
Odunayo Sanya, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, observed that funding is one of the drawbacks to entrepreneurship. To alleviate this, MTN Foundation, in partnership with the Bank of Industry, provides loans and has also launched the Y’elloPreneur programme.
Executive Director, Anzisha Prize, Josh Adler, an organisation builder with over 20 years of experience across business, education and non-profit sectors, pointed out the importance of examining the outcomes of entrepreneurial training. He observed that many graduates of entrepreneurial programmes don’t actually start their businesses after graduation.
“Many of these graduates still go out there to get jobs,’’ he observed. “They need to learn how to do project management and how to execute. We need to be honest with ourselves about the outcomes. We need better outcomes.”
During his closing remarks, Asamani said, “the region’s entrepreneurial potential hasn’t been fully explored – while the majority continue to be micro-enterprises operating in the informal sector, collaborations to scale this potential will only exponentially grow the impact of their efforts.
The PMI Africa Conference is a platform to build a foundation and bring together various stakeholders to pool their ideas over two action-packed days to contribute to turning Africa into one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial communities.”
“One way to accelerate the upskilling is to foster talent and bring government, partners in the private sector and volunteers to support this effort.”
More than 100 channels have signed on to broadcast free-to-air digital content under Nigeria’s Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to digital broadcasting.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the development followed the unveiling of FreeTV, a free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) national platform supported by satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) delivery.
According to the commission, the platform offers a broad mix of content targeted at Nigerian households.
It said the channel line-up includes 14 news and current affairs stations, 15 general entertainment channels, six kids and family channels, two lifestyle and talk shows, three music and entertainment channels, one business and finance station, and five movie channels.
The commission added that 57 of the channels are already live and accessible through the FreeTV app and the NigSat satellite platform.
It advised viewers to download the FreeTV application from Google Play Store to access the services.
Director-General of NBC, Charles Ebuebu, said the initiative would improve television access and viewing quality for Nigerians.
“We will deliver digital TV with clearer pictures, more free channels, and opportunities for every family.
“It is one simple change for a better future,” he said.
Ebuebu noted that with over 100 stations onboard and a satellite-led strategy, Nigeria’s digital migration was making significant progress.
The DSO project was launched in 2008 following the Geneva 2006 Agreement (GE06) as part of efforts to modernise the nation’s broadcasting ecosystem.
Its objectives include improving picture and sound quality, freeing up spectrum space for broadband development, and supporting Nigeria’s creative industry.
The commission acknowledged that the project had faced delays despite its official launch in 2016 and an earlier pilot phase in Jos.
It said nationwide implementation had remained slow due to infrastructural and logistical challenges.
According to NBC, a major turnaround came after President Bola Tinubu approved a N10 billion intervention fund in August 2024 to accelerate the project.
The commission said the funding enabled the adoption of a new satellite-first model under a partnership between NBC and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).
The strategy replaces the earlier terrestrial tower-heavy rollout with direct satellite broadcasting using the NigComSat-1R satellite.
“This technological leap is expected to accelerate nationwide rollout by over 65 per cent while avoiding infrastructure bottlenecks,” Ebuebu said.
He added that about 10 million Nigerian households already own satellite-ready televisions or DVB-S2 set-top boxes and can immediately access the channels.
For households without compatible devices, NBC said hybrid set-top boxes combining satellite reception and internet streaming would be introduced.
The commission added that the DSO initiative would also support local content creation, with 40 per cent of channel slots allocated to independent and regional producers.
It said plans were also underway for local production of five million set-top boxes annually, a move expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs.
Music streaming platform Spotify has introduced a new verification system, “Verified by Spotify,” to help users identify authentic human artists and distinguish them from AI-generated music content.
Spotify
The company disclosed that the new verification badge, represented by a green checkmark on artist profiles and search results, would be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Spotify said only artists who meet specific authenticity requirements would qualify for verification.
According to the company, eligibility criteria include consistent listener engagement, compliance with platform policies, and proof of an active presence beyond the platform, such as live performances or verified social media activity.
“In the AI era, it is more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify said in a statement.
The company added that more than 99 per cent of artists actively searched by users are expected to be verified at launch, covering hundreds of thousands of musicians across multiple genres and regions.
Spotify’s move comes amid a rapid rise in AI-generated music on streaming services.
Music platform Deezer recently reported that approximately 44 per cent of daily uploads on its platform are fully AI-generated, while Apple Music has also recorded growing uploads created using artificial intelligence tools.
Spotify stated that profiles primarily dedicated to AI-generated music or virtual personas would not be eligible for the verification badge.
The company said the policy forms part of broader efforts to improve transparency and build user trust on the platform.
In addition to the verification badge, Spotify is also rolling out expanded profile details for all artists, including release history, touring activity, and career milestones.
The company described the feature as similar to “nutrition facts” for music, offering listeners clearer insight into an artist’s background and credibility.
Spotify noted that the initiative is part of wider measures to address growing concerns around AI in the music industry, including impersonation, spam uploads, and reduced visibility for human creators.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have jointly sued the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over what they described as an “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful” threat to sanction broadcast stations and presenters.
The development was disclosed in a Sunday statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, and Onuoha Ukeh, general secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
According to the statement, SERAP and NGE challenged a recent directive by NBC, warning presenters and journalists against “expressing personal opinions as facts,” “bullying or intimidating guests,” and failing to maintain neutrality.
The statement reads, “SERAP and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘Formal Notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly ‘expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.’
“The NBC had recently threatened to sanction broadcast stations and presenters who ‘express personal opinions as facts’ or ‘bully and intimidate guests,’ claiming it had ‘identified a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across news, current affairs, and political programmes.’”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/854/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos State, SERAP and NGE asked the court to determine whether the various provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC in the directive are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.
According to the statement, the groups disclosed that Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, would lead a team of senior lawyers to represent SERAP and NGE in the lawsuit.
SERAP and NGE asked the court to declare that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and constitute a fundamental breach of press freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
The statement added, “SERAP and NGE are asking the court for a declaration that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and overly broad and constitute a fundamental breach of freedom of expression and media freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.”
The groups also sought an interim injunction to restrain the NBC, its agents and other authorities from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on what they described as “unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code”, pending the hearing and determination of the motion.
“SERAP and NGE are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the NBC, its agents or privies, whether jointly or severally or any other authority, from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on the patently unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed simultaneously in this suit,” the statement concluded.
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