Telecom
Academy Halogen Deepens Cyber Security Conversation with Digitization Confab
Academy Halogen, the Halogen School of Security Management & Technology, has emphasized the need to create a clear policy direction for Nigeria’s digital economy to facilitate effective cyber security practice.
This is because, in today’s digitized world, cyber security has become a vital component of enterprise risks solution helping organizations to deliver their bottom-line.
Dr. Wale Adeagbo, Chief Operating Officer of Academy Halogen, echoed the importance of a strong cyber security policy direction at the opening of a policy development session hosted at the Ikeja GRA, Lagos campus of the institution.
Tagged ‘Digitizing Nigeria; A meeting of Town and Gown’, the cyber security policy confab was a joint initiative of Academy Halogen and the ICT-Driven Knowledge Park of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU.
The Academy Halogen boss described the cyber security knowledge sharing session between industry experts and thought leaders from the academic community as a gathering meant to “trigger vital public discussion on how best to digitize Nigeria for the benefit of commerce and knowledge management”.
Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, while delivering his keynote address expressed happiness on the collaboration between his University and Academy Halogen on cyber security knowledge development on one hand and plans to work with Troyka Group on other levels.
He noted that OAU now have a sustainable policy of engaging with the community and organizations within the industry towards producing graduates who are both academically sound and industry savvy.
Professor Ogunbodede further gave assurance that the cyber security learning session is a product of thoughtfulness between OAU and Academy Halogen for the good of Nigeria.
“This is an initiative we are driving together for the benefit of the entire country.
“The purpose is not about making money, the purpose is to contribute effectively towards digitizing Nigeria in the area of cyber security”, the Vice-Chancellor said.
Speaking earlier, Professor Ganiyu Aderounmu, Co-Centre Leader, OAU ICT Driven Knowledge Park noted that the institution is already bridging knowledge gap between the academic and the industry through collaboration with many corporate big players in the ICT and allied sectors for industrial knowledge transfer to graduates.
“At OAU, the ICT-Driven Knowledge Centre is already blocking the leakage of students lacking practical and industry experience.
“We have a lot of partners. We are partnering with Academy Halogen to further enhance our growing collaboration in the area of cyber security.
“We are committed to stimulating creativity and excellence in research and innovation in ICT”, Professor Aderounmu explained.
In his presentation on competencies and requirements in addressing cyber security, Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a Micro Electronics and Medical Robotic Engineering expert added his scholarly perspective to the cyber security discussion and the need for a robust digital policy direction.
“The world is made up of numbers. Everything we do as humans is about numbers.
“We can reduce frictions in business by deploying right technology. Companies are moving from the physical to the digital realm.
“Digitizing Nigeria will bring about a new nexus of opportunities. Our nation will only be bounded by the limitation of the mind”, Professor Ekekwe analyzed.
Vice-Chairman Troyka Group, Mr. Jimi Awosika in a presentation tagged ‘Business and the need for safety in an open world’ observed that we now live in an open world full of risks, which requires security and intelligence to survive.
“On the part of business and society is the requirement for appreciation of the present danger of the open world and the need to invest not only in these services but more so the propagation of the knowledge that the open world presents for as they say, the panacea for the spread of any communicable disease conditions is knowledge”, he explained
In a presentation titled Enterprise Risk in Cyber, Director General, Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP), Mr. Olayinka Odutola, who stood in for the Association’s President, Mrs Taiwo Ige noted that cyber security is an enterprise risk management issue: not just an information technology issue.
Other participants commented on the benefits of digitization to the private sector in terms of collaboration, the need to digitize the Nigerian populace and the lack of central data for quality policy formulation.
Academy Halogen’s policy development session is in furtherance of the Academy’s commitment to continuously raise conversation for effective enterprise security risk management and policy formulation.
The institution which is reputed to have trained about a million security personnel of various cadres in the Halogen Group’s over 25 years of existence, was formally known as Halogen School of Security Management & Technology, transforming, in a recent re-branding exercise to Academy Halogen.
Academy Halogen which offers a wide range of enterprise security risk related certificate, diploma & MBA courses in partnership with top universities like Babcock and Elizade universities, is also deeply involved in capacity development programmes in the area of enterprise security risk management for various corporations, small, medium and top businesses as well as public enterprises, government institutions and security agencies.
MTN Nigeria is accelerating investments in network expansion and modernization to address rising demand for mobile and data services across the country.
The operator is deploying additional base stations, upgrading existing infrastructure, and expanding fiber connectivity to improve network capacity, coverage, and service quality.
The investments are designed to support increasing smartphone adoption, higher data consumption, and the growing use of digital services by consumers and businesses.
MTN said the expansion aligns with its long-term strategy to enhance customer experience while strengthening Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
The company expects the ongoing upgrades to improve connectivity, support economic growth, and enable broader access to reliable telecommunications services as demand for high-speed broadband continues to increase.
Airtel Africa’s CEO, Sunil Taldar, has announced the telco’s commitment to connecting 5,000 schools across its operating countries in Africa to the internet by 2027 through its philanthropic arm, Airtel Africa Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
So far, the $57m partnership, which was launched in 2021, has cumulatively connected 3,296 schools and provided access to over 2 million learners and about 40,000 teachers. 64 digital learning platforms have been zero-rated thereby enabling more than 11m users to access educational content at no cost.
Speaking during a visit to St. Monica’s Girls School in Lusaka, which is one of the 300 schools already connected to the internet in Zambia, the Airtel Africa CEO stated that the initiative is having a profound impact on the quality of education by expanding access to digital learning resources for African children, in collaboration with governments.
Mr Taldar added: “Students are accessing best-in-class education from the curriculum developed by UNICEF in partnership with various Ministries of Education and provided through Airtel’s connectivity.
“We are also training teachers, so that they deliver digital education effectively. We aim to continue deepening meaningful connectivity in schools by providing free internet access, zero‑rated platforms and training teachers across the continent”.
Expressing her appreciation, the Headmistress of St. Monica’s Girls’ School, Sr Matilda Soloko said: “Being among the first schools connected in the initial stage, our learners have been able to study using the learning portal and their studies have been intensified. We remain grateful to Airtel and UNICEF.”
UNICEF’s Country Representative for Zambia, Dr Saja Farooq Abdullah said: “What this partnership has brought is really bridging the equality gap and the digital divide. It is making sure that every child learns wherever they are. It was exciting and interesting to see and hear from the girls how they can learn at their own pace, how they can review the materials, and how they do their homework with comfort.
The Director of Secondary Education in Zambia’s Ministry of Education, Yvonne Mwemba Chuulu lauded UNICEF and Airtel for the partnership saying: “At the Ministry of Education, we cannot do it alone, and we are grateful for the partnership that we have today.
“Our children are able to learn in a blended fashion, where we have a teacher who is also employing digital devices. We have also heard from the learners that they are able to access the portal when they are at home, which is a good thing because our learners continue to learn in the comfort of their homes”.
The School Connection programme is expanding digital learning to learners in 13 countries: Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. By equipping these schools with internet connectivity and training teachers on using the digital tools, it is providing children, particularly in underserved and remote regions, with the digital tools and skills they need to thrive.
Airtel Africa Foundation is advancing inclusive development across four strategic pillars, Financial Inclusion, Education, Environmental Sustainability and Digital Inclusion.
MultiChoice has officially become a wholly owned subsidiary of French media company Canal+, marking the completion of one of the largest acquisitions in Africa’s media and entertainment industry.
The integration brings the South Africa-based pay television operator under the full ownership of Canal+, a global media group with operations in 70 countries.
Announcing the completion of the transaction on Thursday, Chief Executive Officer of Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice, David Mignot, described the development as the beginning of a new phase of growth for the broadcaster.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries.
“The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mignot said.
The acquisition combines Canal+’s international operations with MultiChoice’s extensive footprint across sub-Saharan Africa, where it serves millions of households through its DStv and GOtv platforms, as well as the Showmax streaming service.
According to Canal+, the integration will strengthen MultiChoice’s competitive position by giving it access to broader financial resources, technology, content partnerships and operational expertise.
The company said the combined business would increase investment in local content production, sports broadcasting and streaming services as competition intensifies from global platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
The transaction is also expected to provide MultiChoice with greater access to international markets at a time when traditional pay television operators are adapting to changing consumer viewing habits and the rapid growth of digital streaming platforms.
Canal+ has expanded steadily across Africa over the past decade and now assumes full control of a business operating in more than 45 African countries, further strengthening its position in the continent’s media and entertainment sector.
The acquisition followed Canal+’s gradual increase in its shareholding in MultiChoice, which began in 2024.
After exceeding the regulatory threshold, the company launched a mandatory offer in April 2024 to acquire the remaining shares of the Johannesburg-listed broadcaster.
Following regulatory approvals and shareholder acceptance, Canal+ secured control of MultiChoice in 2025 before completing the process that has now made the company a wholly owned subsidiary.
Industry observers describe the acquisition as one of the most significant media transactions involving an African company, reflecting a broader trend of consolidation as global entertainment firms seek greater scale to compete in the streaming era.
Police Busts Syndicate Who Allegedly Stole N3Bn from Financial Institution
MTN Accelerates Network Expansion to Meet Surging Telecom Demand
Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m
TeKnowledge, Equinix Partner to Advance Nigerian Digital Infrastructure
NSIB Faults Runway Identification, Reveals Cockpit Disagreement in Asaba Jet Incident
Nigeria Launches FreeTV Nationwide
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
Lebara Nigeria Launches Lebara Play, Africa’s First Telecom-Owned Micro-Drama Platform
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
Telecom3 days agoFixed Wired Internet Market Lags as Mobile Gains Ground
News3 days agoStudy Reveals How Moniepoint is Powering Nigeria’s $11Bn Food Service Sector
Broadcasting3 days agoBON Establishes Six Ad Hoc Committees to Modernize Broadcasting
Telecom2 days agoDStv, GOtv Owner MultiChoice Officially Joins Canal+ Group
News2 days agoPolice Busts Syndicate Who Allegedly Stole N3Bn from Financial Institution
E-Business3 days agoNew NIMC Act Strengthens Data Protection, Privacy – Director
E-Financial2 days agoSEC Unveils Plans to Enforce Mandatory ESG Reporting for Large Firms Next Year
Telecom2 days agoMTN Accelerates Network Expansion to Meet Surging Telecom Demand