Telecom
Telecommunication Masts Pose No Threat To The Public — Expert
Dr Emmanuel Nwokorie, Chief Radiographer in Garki Hospital, has said that telecommunication masts do not emit radiations capable of causing harmful health challenges.
Nwokorie, who is also a Nuclear and Radiation Physicist, said this in an interview with journalists yesterday in Abuja.
He said that the non-ionising rays coming from the installations were not as dangerous as X-rays and Gamma rays as being speculated.
Non-ionising radiation is the term given to radiation in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum where there is insufficient energy to cause ionisation.
“Masts generally emit non-ionising lasers radiation; lasers in our ways can be compared to microwave, but they are non-ionizing; they may not be harmful immediately.
“I do not agree that telecommunication masts can cause harm because the rays coming from the mast are not ionizing, but just lasers; they cannot cause immediate health challenges.”
Nwokorie said that though non-ionising radiation lacked the capacity to knock off the cell from where they were, exposure should be minimized to avoid harm.
He said that the cluster of masts called for concern because the level of rays and energy emitting from three or more masts at a time were more than a single mast rays.
According to him, people who live close to a cluster of masts may risk some level of health challenges over time.
He, however, disagreed that telecommunication mast could also cause cancer.
“I do not agree with people that say telecommunication mast can cause cancer because the radiation coming from the masts is non-ionising; so, they cannot cause cancer.”
He added that research was still ongoing to quantify the level of emissions and the closeness of the houses that could lead to health challenges.
Nwokorie, however, warned that continuous exposure to the radiation from the telecommunication masts could make life support gadgets to malfunction or cause death.
“Although masts radiations are not as serious as x-ray and Gamma rays, if the person is with cardiac cable and other life support gadgets, it could be disastrous; he may even die.
“When masts are mounted in residential areas, we may then look at the health implications, because as light passes through, people who are close to the masts might have health problems,” he said.
Nwokorie, therefore, advised people who live close to the masts to demand safety reports from the owners of such facilities.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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