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Mike Olajide Bags ISPON Best Software Entrepreneurship Award 2017
Mr.Michael Olajide, has received the “Dr. Chijioke Agu’s Cup for Software Excellence”, for the Best Software Entrepreneurship of the Year 2017.
Mr. Oljaide, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration at Sidmach Technologies, was crowned the winner at the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) NITMA Award 2017, held at Muson Center, Lagos.
Presenting the cash award in his office on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, the ISPON President, James Emadoye, said that the recipient has distinguished himself and fulfilled the expectations from winners of the award by showing software leadership passion; investment in IT human resources capacity building; creative contributions to IT industry strategies; youth innovation mentoring; information analysis and data sharing; customer satisfaction and continuing education and training.
ISPON, in collaboration with the Late Simon Agu’s family, established the Simon Agu Prize for Software Excellence, an annual award for the ‘Best Software Entrepreneur of the year’ in a bid to keep alive the excellent contributions of Engineer Simon Agu, to the software profession and industry in general.
ISPON presented the award initiative to NCS, the umbrella body, and it received the blessing and approval for inclusion into the annual NITMA award.
ISPON President said, “It is a great testament, being what you are doing and the entire Sidmach team.
“You are building software experts that will keep the industry thriving after we leave.
“It is therefore, on behalf of the National Executive Council of the Institute (ISPON) that we present to you the awards as the winner of Dr. Chijioke Agu prize for Best Software Entrepreneur 2017 which was awarded to you at NITMA 2017.”
Mr. Olajide, in responding, said that the late software sage, Dr. Agu was a great and visionary man who championed the course for indigenous software development.
“He was a great example to us in the software industry”.
He ceased the time to admonish the government to adopt indigenous software as means to grow the economy.
In his words, “Nigeria’s survivability revolves around the practitioners in the software industry.
“Therefore, ISPON has become a very important Institute. Not because it is ISPON rather we in the software industry have the talents to take this nation to the next level. If we fail, Nigeria is going no where.
“The earlier our Government recognises this, the better for the economy.
“Today, the aural is around artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, cybersecurity, et cetera.
“Today, if you give me your farm’s longitude and latitude, I can stay in my office and predict your yield. What makes that possible is software.
“Today, people’s longevity can be predicted. We just have to wake up to the realities and the Government has to wake up to it responsibility by giving the indigenous software practitioners priority.
“It is confusing that Government maintains the penchant for foreign software; something that indigenous companies can handle very well.
“Today, government is crying that those projects are failing. Whose fault is it? Adaptability is important in software development; Nigeria is a peculiar place. So, software must be designed to solve the local needs.
He also called on software practitioners to rally round ISPON as a formidable platform to move the industry forward.
“We have a capable President, who knows his onus. He needs our support to move the industry to a whole new level.
On that note, the awardee donated the cash award to the Institute for the continuation of its advocacy programmes in the country.
“The man who started this showed enough interest and for the good of the industry, young people and software practice in general.
“So, I like to also donate this cheque to ISPON so that it can carry on the good works of advocacy.”
Receiving the cheque, the President appreciated the donor for his magnanimity and support towards the growth of ISPON.
“This is what we talk about: commitment to your nation. We are not working for what to eat today rather for the generations unborn to be proud of us.”
He promised that the donation will be utilised for the purpose it was donated.
“Again, we shall leverage this for the interest of our people, industry and country at large.
“We will keep appealing to the conscience of our people who are ignorant of the damages they are doing to the country for not patronising indigenous companies, especially in the technology space.
“Our technologies are far advanced than what is obtainable in many countries.
“It is a matter of having confidence in our own. It is a pity that our people are using the Condit pipe to siphon money from the treasury.
Well, we will keep fighting for the common good of our country”, Emadoye said.
Simon Agu was the founder and chairman of Computer Industry Systems Associates (Nigeria) Limited which metamorphosed to Neptune Software, a foremost international software company growing from 3 to 100 professional staff, among other contributions he made to bring the Nigerian software industry to the limelight.
The ISPON President was accompanied by the Institute’s Treasurer, Bimbo Abioye; the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Mr. Iyiola Ayoola and the Administrative Secretary of ISPON, Paul Uzoechina.
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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