Telecom
Nigeria Tech: After Omobola Comes Shittu (Who?)
After the long delay in announcing his ministers, we all waited with great anticipation for who President Buhari will appoint to replace Omobola Johnson as minister for Comminucation Technology.
Omobola had been appointed the pioneer minister of this ministry by the last administration and stayed in the post for about 3 years.
During that period , she had left no one in doubt that she understood what it required to build a tech ecosystem for Nigeria that will rival any other rindustry in the country.
At every encounter, she tried to rally the tech industry to stand up and be counted as one of the biggest contributors to Nigerian GDP.
She was knowledgeable and articulate. And humble about it.
I believe that the industry responded to her and suddenly, the idea of a viable tech ecosystem not necessarily dominated by the telecoms industry started becoming a reality.
Yaba tech hub started becoming a name across Africa as one of the hotbeds of tech innovation.
Venture capital companies started looking for deals to be made in Nigeria . ecommerce took off . Tech hubs, accelerators started popping up, with new tech entrepreneurs minted daily and some getting funding.
And there were signs that a real momentum was building for the tech industry to explode. Similar to what happened to Nollywood and the music industry. But this time, bigger and more orderly.
And better funded , following the models that have worked in several countries with Silicon Valley as the poster child for the world.
She was not solely responsible for this. But she was an apostle and avid supporter. And she put her money where her mouth was.
Then came the end of the Jonathan administration in May. I think it was too soon to see her go. So when the time came for a new minister to be announced, I guess the industry was high in anticipation that whoever succeeded her must be someone who understood the tremendous work that had been done and would continue the legacy.
When Mr Adebayo Shittu a, politician and a legal practitioner was announced as replacement, the first thing that came to my mind was Shittu who? And being in tech, I am sure most of us went to the net to Google him to find out his background and pedigree.
We did see a politician with pedigree. But with little or no tech credentials. That’s been a source of uneasy silence in the industry.
I have nothing against Mr Shittu and I am sure he is a brilliant lawyer and politician. But the industry fought to have a special ministry designated for her because of the nature of technology and its capacilty to impact the society.
And like health and legal professions where industry professionals run such ministries, we thought that it made sense to have industry experts from the tech ecosystem to guide the fairly new ministry.
I remember long ago when a pharmacist was named the Minister for Health. The heath industry was up in arms against the Minister , one of the best Pharmacists in the country then and a member of the health industry. But no.
Doctors , the more powerful in the ministry would not have a pharmacist heading their ministry. And lawyers? Can I ever aspire to be Minister of Justice in Nigeria?
So you can imagine the uneasy silence in the industry since the announcement was made.
Unfortunately, the industry does not have the noisemaking capacity of the legal or medical profession to lay a siege on the presidency and demand that “justice’ be done.
And our lobbying ability is very limited. Tech people in Nigeria are just cobbling an industry together and lack the age long experience of the more mature industries like lawyers and doctors .
But its necessary that we learn fast to protect the industry that will increasing be relevant in which ever direction the Nigerian economy wants to go.
Anyway, we have Mr Shittu. All we can do I guess is to welcome him.
And pray he has the appetite to quickly learn about the industry and take on from where Omobola left. There is a lot that needs to be done. And I will mention a few.
As Nigeria grapples with the challenges of sub $40 oil, Tech is one of the best options for diversifying the economy.
But for that to happen, there is a lot that needs to be done to create the industry that will create wealth and employment.
The ministry should continue to catalyze this. Chief among them is the financial system that funds tech companies and startups. From angel investors to venture capital companies.
As at today, startups in tech will not get funding from banks and your normal financial institutions.
And intervention funds do not list tech as one of the areas they cover. This has to stop. We fund textile. We fund mining. We fund manufacturing and agriculture. We are even funding Nollywood.
So why not Technology ? The ministry needs to help create the structures for more funding to both early stage tech companies and the matured one to help them scale and create wealth and employment
The tech industry has two main subsectors, the ‘ bigger’ and better funded telecoms industry and the less funded IT industry.
It is the less funded IT though that has the capacity for mass impact. The telecoms industry is developed and maturing. It has very few players and while its influence on the economy is huge, its capacity for really creating entrepreneurs ands wealth is limited. How many people does MTN employ?
And how many entrepreneurs has the telecommunication industry produced? Compare that to Jumia or Konga and their competitors, after only a few years.
Omobola understood this and spent as much time in Yaba as possible, trying to pull up the IT industry to compete with telecoms. I hope the the new Minister will follow the same path.
In the last two months, two issues that relate to Tech have dominated the headlines. The first is the $5.2b fine imposed on MTN.
The seconds is the TSA/Remitta issue. What is the minister’s take on both? The tech industry is local but with an international influence.
The few investments we have seen in startups and the telecoms industry are mostly from international players. How will the fine on MTN affect international VCs and private equity companies who provide the funds that drive the growth in the industry?
Is the Minister as a lawyer going to focus on the legal side of the argument or the business side?Are we going to see more regulation in the industry? Or less?
In concluding, I suggest the industry quickly sit down with the minister .
Not on merry go round courtesy calls but on serious discussions around the future of the industry and how the industry can help Nigeria diversity the economy.
There is a lot that can be done to help Nigeria out of the current economic crisis and I believe tech will play a big role. The hub of the industry is in Lagos.
We must invite him to come take a look at what we are doing and let him tell us how he can play his part.
It is not going to be an easy task for him to run a ministry that supervises technology, a queer industry dominated in most climes by young upstarts who think they will change the world. And some do. I wish him luck and assure him that if he is willing, he will get the support he needs.
And for the future, the industry should start getting interested in how it is governed at the highest level. And should let the country know that it has competent people who can man the ministry and protect the interest of the practitioners.
Airtel Nigeria has strengthened its nationwide retail and distribution network as part of its continued investment in enhancing service delivery and making telecommunications and digital services more accessible to millions of Nigerians.
The company’s retail ecosystem comprises more than 4,000 exclusive Airtel shops and over 200,000 retail touch-points nationwide, including partner stores, channel partners and neighborhood agents. This network ensures that subscribers can conveniently easily access SIM registration, device purchases, airtime and data recharge, customer support and other digital solutions.
Commenting on the company’s retail distribution strategy, Dinesh Balsingh, CEO, Airtel Nigeria, said,
“Telecommunications goes beyond the physical infrastructure, it is important that we are able to reach people where they live and work. That is why we continue to invest in a strong retail and distribution ecosystem that enables us to bring Airtel closer to our customers while delivering a consistent, high-quality experience wherever they are.”
According to Joypratip Sengupta, Director, Sales and Distribution, Airtel Nigeria, the company’s distribution network plays a vital role in ensuring seamless service delivery.
“Our retail network is designed to ensure that our services reach customers efficiently. It is a combination of efficient logistic systems, strong partnerships and local engagement that enables us to consistently meet the needs of our customers across the country,” he said.
The strengthened distribution strategy complements the company’s ongoing investments in network infrastructure and digital innovation, recognising that customer proximity remains a critical driver of service excellence and digital inclusion.
In addition to improving customer access, Airtel’s extensive retail ecosystem continues to create economic opportunities for thousands of entrepreneurs, distributors, retailers and small business owners who form an integral part of the company’s value chain.
As demand for accessible, interconnected digital services continues to grow across Nigeria, Airtel remains committed to investing in improving its service delivery and ensuring that every subscriber enjoys quality service.
Kaspersky’s latest global survey shows a change in how people go online: 60% of survey participants from the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region now claim their smartphone is the main device they use to access the Internet, pushing the PC into a secondary role.
But as the amount and sensitivity of data stored on these phones keep growing, cybersecurity experts warn that users’ security habits aren’t keeping up.
According to the survey* 60% of respondents from the META region consider a smartphone their primary device for accessing the Internet. The most active smartphone users are representatives of Gen Z, with 67% of all global respondents aged 18-28 choosing a mobile phone as their main device.
With mobiles as the full-fledged rivals of computers in accessing the Internet, the amount of important data stored on them has also increased significantly. Personal photos and videos are leading the pack. 60% of users in the META region store visual memories on their devices. Close behind are contact details (51%), text messages and chats history (45%) and important personal documents such as IDs and passports (43%).
At the same time, a substantial portion of users in the META region keep work‑related data on their smartphones (37% emails, 22% calendars and 17% even store access to corporate systems), blurring the line between personal and professional realms.
Financial credentials and login details appear on 40% of devices, while emerging categories like AI chat histories (30%) and gaming accounts (26%) signal new types of personal data stored on personal devices.
“Now our smartphones serve as full‑featured assistants that touch every aspect of our lives. The data we entrust to them goes far beyond photos, phone numbers or text messages. Consequently, the main question is no longer “what we store,” but “how we protect it,” requiring security to become as integral to the device as the data it carries,” comments Anton Kivva, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
Three keys to mobile data security
To help users navigate this new digital reality safely, Kaspersky experts have issued a three-step security plan:
- No data should live on your phone only
A smartphone should never be the sole repository for any type of information. While having everything at your fingertips is convenient, accidental deletions, loss or hardware failure can make recovery impossible without reliable backups or cloud sync.
The most sensitive data like passwords, ID or financial details requires special attention and preferably be kept in a protected format. Use a dedicated security solution like Kaspersky Password Manager, which apart from securely keeping credentials and bank cards, has a special secret vault functionality aimed at storing important documents, for example, scanned Passports/IDs and PDF files, addresses and notes. Thanks to the cross-device synchronisation it allows access to the data from any gadget.
- Create a guard against digital threats
In Q1 2026 only, more than 2.67 million attacks utilising malware, adware or unwanted mobile software were prevented and more than 306,000 malicious installation packages were discovered.
Mobile devices require the same cyber protection as PCs. Kaspersky experts recommend cybersecurity solutions such as Kaspersky Premium that provide comprehensive protection – starting with scanning apps for potential threats upon installation, and using AI‑driven features to block malicious and phishing links in real time and prevent data or money losses, among many other security layers.
- The “what if” scenario planning
Phone loss always occurs unexpectedly, but a few proactive steps can dramatically reduce its impact:
Turn on location services. Both Android and iOS include built-in tools that can locate a lost phone and, if needed, wipe its data remotely. Kaspersky for Android app activates this capability through the Where Is My Device feature.
- Enable automatic backups.Regular backups ensure that photos, videos, documents, contacts and other vital data can be restored even if the device is lost or stolen.
- Configure instant auto‑lock.Setting the phone to lock immediately after the screen turns off keeps it inaccessible to thieves or cyber‑criminals when you’re not using it.
- Keep the device physically safe.In public spaces, never leave your phone unattended or within easy reach, avoid placing it on tables, in back pockets or any other vulnerable spot.
“We often underestimate how much valuable information we keep on our mobile devices and how vulnerable that data truly is. Ask yourself: When was the last time I backed up my photos or notes? What’s my plan if my phone goes missing? Do I verify links before I click them? While most users automatically think of security software for their computers, phones lag behind. It’s time to give your everyday digital companion the same robust cyber‑protection it deserves,” adds Anton Kivva, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
Nigeria will host telecommunications, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital economy ministers from across Africa for the 7th Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL-26), scheduled for July 23 to July 24 in Abuja.
The conference, the highest decision-making body of the ATU, is expected to bring together ministers, regulators, industry leaders, development partners and other stakeholders from the Union’s 52 member states to deliberate on Africa’s digital and telecommunications agenda for the next four years.
A statement by the organisers said delegates would adopt the Union’s strategic direction, approve its 2027–2031 budget and work programme, elect a new Secretary-General and determine the composition of the Administrative Council.
The conference will also harmonise Africa’s common positions ahead of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference scheduled to hold later this year in Doha, Qatar.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, described the conference as a significant milestone for Africa’s digital future.
“Nigeria is honoured to host the 7th Ordinary Session of the ATU Conference of Plenipotentiaries at a defining moment for Africa’s digital future.
“As countries across the continent accelerate digital transformation, it is increasingly important to strengthen regional cooperation, develop common positions on emerging technologies, and create enabling environments that attract investment, build digital talent and expand meaningful connectivity.
“Our role as host reflects the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to building an innovation-driven economy while strengthening African cooperation on digital infrastructure, technology governance, skills development and investment,” he said.
One of the major highlights of the conference will be a ministerial dialogue on “Achieving Africa’s Meaningful Connectivity,” jointly organised by the ATU and the GSMA.
The dialogue will explore practical strategies for expanding affordable, reliable and quality connectivity across the continent, with emphasis on infrastructure investment, service quality, affordability and ensuring that digital access delivers tangible economic and social benefits.
Also speaking ahead of the conference, the Secretary-General of the ATU, Mr John Omo, said the meeting would provide member states with an opportunity to strengthen the Union’s capacity to drive Africa’s digital ambitions.
He said the decisions to be taken in Abuja would shape the ATU’s ability to support national priorities, sustain Africa’s participation in global telecommunications forums and respond effectively to emerging technological developments over the next four years.
The conference is expected to conclude with the adoption of the Abuja Declaration, which will provide governments, regulators, industry stakeholders and development partners with a common framework for advancing Africa’s digital transformation agenda.
According to the organisers, hosting the conference underscores Nigeria’s commitment to regional collaboration and reinforces the country’s growing leadership in digital policy, technology governance and investment promotion across Africa.
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