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TD Mobile to #GirlsInICT: The Future is Here, Seize It
An education in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines (STEM) is a necessity for everyone, especially girls who desire to be counted among future global citizens, said Mrs. Gozy Ijogun, managing director, TD Mobile.
Mrs. Ijogun made the remark during in her speech on Tuesday at the 2017 Girls in ICT Day celebration organized by e-Business Life at Oriental Hotel, Lagos, stressing that this is an era in which the world will come to rely, more than ever, on its female population to show the way forward.
“Actually, we are approaching what is being regarded as the age of super-computers and artificial intelligence: a world in which robots will play a greater role in our society and replacing humans in various fields of endeavor including law, warehousing, factories and traffic control: an age in which driver-less cars are expected to come into place, radically revolutionizing society’s dynamics; a world in which many individuals and entire continents will be left behind in the relentlessly fast-paced nature of global digital evolution.
“In this current age that we find ourselves, an education in the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a necessity for everyone if you desire to be counted among future global citizens. This is an era in which the world will come to rely, more than ever, on its female population to show the way forward.
“If you are still in doubt about your role in the emerging global order; if you still regard Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or a career in Information and Communication Technology as one for the boys; if you are still innocently unaware of the sweeping ICT revolution today and if you remain skeptical of your role in shaping the course of Nigeria’s history, then think again”, she said.
According to the TD Mobile boss, women, the world over, are breaking the shackles that have long held them back. “For all of us in this room and other young girls and women in Nigeria, we must wake up from our slumber or stand the risk of being left behind”, she advocated. “Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, a woman, is the most powerful person in Germany today. Hilary Clinton, another woman, came so close to becoming the President of the most powerful country in the world today – the United States of America. Indeed, many believe there was external interference in the elections else she would have emerged winner. And to bring it further home, Amina Mohammed, a woman, a Nigerian, was recently appointed the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations”.
Mrs. Ijogun reiterated that in the corporate world as well, a number of women have taken the bold step of not only embracing the STEM disciplines but also making a successful career in the ICT industry.
“The list is seemingly endless…Sheryl Sandberg is today the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, one of the world’s most popular social media engine. Angela Ahrendts is Senior Vice President of Apple’s retail and online stores – a woman who reportedly earned more than CEO, Tim Cook last year. YouTube, which I am sure many of you use, has a female CEO. Her name is Susan Wojcicki. IBM, one of the world’s most successful technology companies also has a female CEO, Virginia Rometty.
“What about HP? CEO Meg Whitman is a woman. Same goes for Yahoo! The company’s CEO is a woman: Marissa Mayer and Oracle, another globally renowned technology company recently promoted Safra Catz, a woman, to the position of co-CEO.
“Gone are the days when it was said that the world we live in is a man’s world or when certain disciplines, jobs or occupations were believed to be the sole preserve of the men-folk. These days, the world no longer cares about your gender but about your capabilities, your zeal and your capacity to deliver the goods,” she said.
She charged the girls to be ready to stand up and be counted, as the place of young girls and women in the global scheme of things cannot be over-emphasized.
“After all, women make up more than half of the world’s population. In Nigeria, for instance, despite the absence of reliable statistics, current fertility and birth rates indicate that females outnumber their male counterparts by four to one.
“If we have such a preponderance of girls being born, it goes without saying that we must play a much more crucial role in the development of our society. Indeed, no society can achieve any form of significant development without the active involvement and participation of its females.
“According to Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg: ‘No industry or country can reach its full potential until women reach their full potential. This is especially true of science and technology, where women with a surplus of talent still face a deficit of opportunity.’
“Former First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama also toes the same line as Sandberg in her contribution on this issue. In her words: ‘We need all hands on deck, and that means clearing all hurdles for women and girls as they navigate careers in science, technology, engineering and math.’
“Tyler Golden, renowned Talent Manager also had this to say: ‘When you consider that women make up half the world’s population and workforce, but they hold a much smaller percentage of its technology jobs, it’s clear that our industry is missing out on a big potential source of talent,’” she reminded guests at the e-Business Life event.
Citing her background in STEM as crucial in building TD and TD mobile brand in Nigeria, Mrs. Ijogun, said, “To begin with, I do not think that I am more intelligent than any of you in this room. Your generation is more exposed, more aware of information and more open to new ideas and sophisticated learning tools than we had when I was at your age. My little daughter is a very good example of this. Her vocabulary and sense of awareness, even at a very tender age, never ceases to amaze me.
“I must, however, point out that the journey begins from this stage of your lives. I had always fancied the STEM disciplines and as a result, I made it a dream to pursue a career in the sciences. I started out by studying Chemistry in my first degree. I probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve this if I hadn’t embraced the various science subjects in my formative years in High School. After completing my first degree, I had proceeded to enroll for a Master’s degree in Accounting, Organization and Institution which I achieved with distinction from the London School of Economics.
“This educational background certainly paved the way for me to seek a career in the ICT sector where I first started out working with HP before joining my current organization, Technology Distributions Ltd. in 2013. It was while here that we launched TD Mobile in 2014, the entity I currently head, and which within the space of three years, has become the biggest mobile devices distributor not only in Nigeria but in the West African sub-region”.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
PalmPay Group (“PalmPay”), a multinational fintech company providing digital financial services across high-growth emerging markets, is pleased to appoint Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of its Nigeria practice, effective immediately.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for PalmPay as it looks to reach more underserved communities and continuously strengthen the reliability and security of its services. It also comes as Nigeria’s broader financial services sector continues to modernize, bring millions more Nigerians into the formal financial system, and strengthen the cybersecurity and fraud-prevention standards that underpin public confidence in digital payments.
As COO of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr. Oluyemi will oversee PalmPay’s Nigerian operations — where the company provides a full suite of digital financial services to individuals and businesses — and communicate with regulators to ensure the company’s growth happens harmoniously with the country’s financial, digital, and social inclusion goals.
Mr. Oluyemi brings more than two decades of experience at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (“NIBSS”). During his tenure as the Business Development Lead, he championed the development of key national payment services — including the Digital Validation of Nigerian International Passport (e-Passport Validation), Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (“e-DMMS”), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (“EPCCOS”) — and played a pivotal role in introducing and driving early adoption of NIBSS Instant Payment (“NIP”), Nigeria’s first online, real-time, inter-bank transfer system in 2011 and its subsequent extension to the Other Financial Institutions (“OFI”) segment of the Nigeria Payments System.
He holds an MSc in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan with extensive local and international professional training.
“Samuel joins PalmPay at an important stage in our journey to strengthen the foundations that will support our long-term goal of driving financial inclusion,” said Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria. “His extensive experience makes him well positioned to help us scale sustainably while maintaining the operational discipline, governance and customer-first culture that define PalmPay.”
“PalmPay has established itself as one of the most impactful fintech companies in emerging markets by making financial services more accessible and affordable for millions of people,” said Mr. Oluyemi.
“I am excited to join the company and look forward to working alongside an exceptional team to strengthen operational excellence and support PalmPay’s vision of building a leading digital financial services platform. Together, we will continue delivering secure, reliable, and customer-focused financial solutions while contributing to the continued evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.”
As Nigeria’s digital financial services sector continues to mature, this appointment reflects a broader commitment guiding PalmPay across all markets it serves: building financial services that are secure, reliable, and effective enough to earn a permanent place in people’s everyday lives.
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