News
Communication Networks & Infrastructure Security (1)
Africa is growing…..
The continent’s rate of growth is projected at between 5 – 7 % over the next 3 years (World Bank). Compared to the sub- 3% rates of growth for Europe and North America (if you are to disregard recession rumours), and you can see that Africa is indeed growing.
With the increasing rate of development, both within individual countries and across the regions, there has been an increase in the exploitation, extraction and development of natural assets and resources. This has led to the consequent growth in creation and development of infrastructure, industries, factories, and the capital assets and inventory across the African landscape. The Chinese for example, has trade worth US$50 billion as of Africa. Much of this has been tied to infrastructure developments and investments.
The new investment and development ‘race’ for Africa by investors, extractive industries, speculators, joint ventures, Foreign countries et. al, has spawned a side-effect that has to be taken account of. With rapid growth and the creation of wealth and capital assets, there has been an increasing need for quality and comprehensive Communications and Security infrastructure . This is required to provide a capability to monitor, track and manage the increasingly critical additions to the natural, economic and infrastructural landscape that we now see within and about us.
Firstly, when you create infrastructure; roads, schools, bridges, industries, factories, dams, power stations, etc. you need to plan how to design, equip, supply (raw materials in the beginning; supplies after launch), manage and maintain these assets.
To plan, you need to communicate; to bring people, ideas, tasks, requirements, instructions and updates to their personnel and stakeholders that need to be aware, kept in the loop; instructed, updated.
Having planned (and hopefully been successful), you then need to manage.
You manage the infrastructure assets for much the same reasons as when you are planning, but with more of a focus on the need to report, monitor, update, pass instructions and updates on progress, utilisation, performance and the like to stakeholders and interested parties.
However, an key aspect of infrastructure implementation in Africa, especially when compared to comparative asset implementation in the first world, has to do with the need to manage assets and inventory over large distances, especially when considering distance from asset to manager and from source to consumer.
Hospitals, power stations, grid and distribution infrastructure, Mobile and public telecomms networks, switching and transmission assets, factories, industries, extractive, mining and agro-allied operations – all need to be managed.
Locally and often in a regional or centrally co-ordinated Command-and-Control model to bring about the necessary efficiencies (Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)) and Return on Investment (RoI) for their investors, stakeholders – hopefully resulting in improved, quality delivery of public services to the communities and peoples who are supposed to be receiving this benefit.
So there are two parts to this equation – firstly internal communications between the nodes of control and organisation within the entities and organisations that either own and/or maintain these infrastructure assets and inventory.
Then there are the external communications systems that provide communications between the infrastructure managers and the stakeholders interested in their delivery – government and their agencies, regulatory bodies, communities, etc.
How are these set up? What priority is given to the design, planning, implementation and, upon launch, maintenance and upgrade (yes, upgrade) of this vital resource to support the effective management of these vital assets towards meeting their key Priority objective – Delivery?
How well can we remotely monitor our often widely-dispersed (and not easily reachable) assets out there in the field? How effective are we in tracking their location (GPS), performance (IP, Data networks), maintenance requirements, (SCADA) etc.?
How well do we use networked communications – in a secure (can’t be hacked or intercepted), resilient (multiple levels of backup and transmission) and redundant (multiple, independent means of operation) manner to ensure that assets that have been developed and implemented at often high capital costs in terms of foreign-acquired currency, are being maintained and manage at an optimum level of performance and efficiency?
What priority is given to its budget, assessment, resilience, redundancy ..? Is a Single Point of Failure (SPOF); e.g. single power source; that goes, it all goes.
I know of an incident at a Petroleum Product Tank Farm facility where the single power/network resource ran for the entire plant and all assets on it; i.e. no resilience, no redundancy. As the fire took out the network, so went the firefighting capability at a stroke….
You can imagine what happened to the facility after that…
And as to the rebuilding/replacement costs (value of money/NPV) and the impact on supply of a critical commodity for economic development,….
And then, there’s the Security component… but that’s another article
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DataPro Rating Agency has upgraded the long-term credit rating of Dangote Cement Plc to AA+ from AA, citing the company’s strong financial performance, market leadership and ability to meet its financial obligations despite Nigeria’s challenging economic environment.
In its latest rating report, the technology-driven credit rating agency also affirmed Dangote Cement’s short-term rating at A1, with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are valid until June 16, 2027.
DataPro said the upgrade reflects the cement maker’s sustained financial strength, resilient operating performance and dominant position in Nigeria and across Africa.
According to the agency, the assessment followed a comprehensive review of the company’s capital base, earnings, liquidity, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and the sustainability of its financial performance over the medium to long term.
It noted that Dangote Cement’s strong brand, leading market share, solid earnings, robust asset base and experienced management continue to strengthen its ability to meet financial commitments on time.
The agency also highlighted the company’s outstanding financial performance in 2025.
According to the report, Dangote Cement posted N4.31 trillion in revenue during the year, representing a 20 per cent increase from the previous year. Profit before tax more than doubled, rising 109 per cent to N1.53 trillion, driven by higher sales, improved operating efficiency, lower finance costs and a stronger capital structure.
DataPro said the AA+ long-term rating indicates low credit risk and reflects excellent financial strength, business profile and operating performance relative to its rating benchmarks.
It added that the A1 short-term rating signifies good credit quality and shows that the company has a strong capacity to meet its short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
The rating agency, however, noted that the credit rating has a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months in line with international best practice and should be used only as a reference, not as an offer to trade in securities or as a substitute for investors’ independent judgement.
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.
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