General News
Developing Successful Future: Why Coding Is Essential For Today’s Students
By Hakeem Adeniji- Adele, Microsoft Nigeria, Chief Technology Officer
With five million jobs set to be lost to automation by 2020 and 80 percent of the jobs in 2025 not yet existing, how do we set up today’s students for success tomorrow?
ICT education as part of a school curriculum is nothing new. For the past couple of decades students have been learning how to word-process or work a spreadsheet.
But in 2017, that’s no longer enough. It’s evident that learning new and more relevant digital skills is vital if we are to survive and thrive in a world increasingly dominated by technology.
The curriculum that must guide our students successfully into the jobs of the future must focus on computer science, information technology and digital literacy. Integral to this is teaching them how to code; learning not just how to work a computer, but how a computer works and how to make it work for them.
Building Skills For Any Career
There’s so much more to coding than finding a job as a developer one day. Learning coding skills benefits students whatever their ultimate career – similar to the argument of teaching a child to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language. We’re not only trying to encourage students to become developers, but also encouraging them to be creative and think differently.
Coding teaches both critical and computational thinking, which help develop students’ problem-solving skills. It also gives them a sense of independence, which is encourages innovation and entrepreneurship.
Mining The Right Digital Tools For The Classroom
Minecraft: Education Edition makes the idea a reality. In simple terms, it’s a computer game about placing blocks to create the simplest shelter or grandest castle, and going on adventures in randomly generated worlds. Minecraft has already been used in classrooms for years to help students learn more about maths, humanities, history and physics, and has helped build their digital literacy skills.
The game gives students in classrooms in more than 100 countries the freedom to be creative, while inspiring problem solving and critical thinking, and encouraging collaboration as students work together in their virtual worlds. It also offers teachers the tools they need to understand the game and monitor their students’ usage and progress – because technology is meaningless without the right teacher to use it effectively.
To add to this, the newCode Builder for Minecraft: Education Edition makes it easy for teachers and students to dive into coding within the world of Minecraft.
Code Builder introduces the Agent – a virtual sidekick who executes coding instructions the player gives via learn-to-code programs like Tynker, MakeCode and ScratchX. This makes it easy for students to understand the principles of coding, by learning how to use it to get the Agent to build things and solve problems that have an immediate impact on the game.
Coding Is The New Literacy
The findings of a recent Microsoft survey, released at BETT Middle East earlier this year, show that the majority of teachers see virtual collaboration as a key skill required by students, followed by problem solving and knowledge construction.
A further 39 percent believe students will be limited in terms of career options due to a lack of digital literacy. With the world experiencing seismic shifts in the way we live and work, there is no doubt that coding is the new literacy.
The great thing about learning to code is that it embodies the idea that sometimes learning can effective when you’re not aware you’re learning – you you’re just having fun. Ultimately, that fun translates into a set of skills and a way of thinking that will help today’s students make a success of tomorrow.
To help teachers get ready for the new school year, Microsoft are hosting “Back to School LIVE,” an interactive set of online workshops, TweetMeets and tips to get the most out of new products like Minecraft: Education Edition.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has ordered all international airlines flying into Nigeria to enforce the $10,000 currency declaration rule.
The authority said the rule is required for passengers to declare cash or negotiable instruments above the limit, as part of efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance.
According to the NCAA, the directive, referenced as NCAA/CPD/ABV/298, dated 24 April 2025 seeks to address gaps in the enforcement of existing currency declaration obligations for inbound passengers.
This was announced in a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, via his official X account on Tuesday.
“International carriers must take two key actions, which include “Make inflight or pre-landing announcements informing passengers of their legal obligation to declare any currency or Bearer Negotiable Instruments exceeding $10,000 USD or its equivalent upon arrival in Nigeria.
“Distribute currency declaration forms onboard for passengers to complete before landing. The NCAA has received reports indicating that some airlines are yet to comply with this directive”, the statement read.
The NCAA said these requirements are consistent with international best practices and are vital to preventing the illegal movement of large sums of money across borders.
The Authority warned that full cooperation from international airlines is essential, saying, “Please note that the cooperation of all international airlines operating in Nigeria is critical to supporting the country’s efforts to align with global financial standards.”
Accordingly, the authority emphasised that full implementation of this directive, particularly as it concerns inbound passenger declarations, is of utmost importance.
“Compliance will be closely monitored, and non-compliant airlines will face appropriate sanctions,” it added.
The court of appeal in Lagos has asked the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to revoke the certificate of registration of “KPMG Professional Services”.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the appellant court granted the reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against CAC and KPMG Professional Services.
The judgment was read by Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the judge.
The two other judges are Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and A.M. Talba.
In 2002, KPMG Professional Services was registered as a company with CAC despite the existence of KPMG Nigeria, comprising its audit, tax, and consulting arms.
The KPMG Nigeria has long been registered in Nigeria before 2002.
KPMG Audit was registered in 1969, KPMG Tax Consultants in 1990, and KPMG Consulting in 1969.
Displeased with the registration of KPMG Professional Services, KPMG Nigeria approached the federal high court.
The consulting firm had argued that the name “KPMG Professional Services” was deceptively similar to its long-established identity.
In 2005, the lower court dismissed KPMG Nigeria’s case, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte as reason the company could no longer assert rights to the name.
The lower upheld the second respondent’s (KPMG Professional Services) counterclaim and ordered that KPMG Nigeria’s name be struck off the CAC register.
The lower court had premised its decision on newspaper articles stating that KPMG Nigeria reportedly merged with Akintola Williams Deloitte.
Delivering the judgment, Bayero ruled that the lower court erred by relying on newspaper articles to ascertain that KPMG Nigeria allegedly merged with another company.
The judge said the documents showing the alleged merger were not presented before the lower court, and the form of the alleged merger could not have been known.
“In any event, the only branch of KPMG, if any, that entered into a merger with Akintola Williams as stated in the newspaper articles 18, is KPMG Audit,” the judge ruled.
“The other spheres were totally unaffected. It would therefore be wrong to state that the merger (which has not been shown to this Court) of KPMG Audit with Akintola Williams means all the other areas of business, including KPMG Consulting and KPMG Tax Consultants, also ceased to exist.
“Even if the Appellants (KPMG Nigeria) had ceased to do business as the Court seemed to have held, the 2nd Respondents (KPMG Professional Services) should not have been carrying on business until the Appellant’s certificate of registration is withdrawn or set aside.
“They cannot use the name until the Appellant’s certification of registration is withdrawn or set aside. They cannot use the name until the name is removed from the 1st Respondent’s (CAC) Register of Names.
“The 1st Respondents can only assign the name to the 2nd Respondents after first taking it away from the Appellants.”
The court ruled that CAC erred by registering KPMG Professional Services despite the existence of a business name, which is already registered.
The judge reversed the earlier ruling of the lower court and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.
Air Peace has announced the launch of direct flights from Abuja to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with operations scheduled to begin on October 26, 2025.
The airline said in a statement on Sunday that round-trip fares for the Abuja–London service will start from N1m, making it the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct connections from the capital to both of London’s major international airports. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by the airline’s spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey.
“Direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, effective October 26, 2025.
“Air Peace becomes the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.
“Travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks,” the statement read.
Similarly, the new route opens convenient access for inbound passengers from the UK to cities across Nigeria.
“Travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later,” Osifo-Whiskey stated.
Air Peace is also offering what it describes as unprecedented value in pricing and service.
Osifo-Whiskey said, “It provides a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.
“Has the cheapest fares ever, starting from only 1 Million Naira round trip. Huge baggage allowance.”
The Abuja–London launch comes months after the airline began Lagos–London Heathrow flights, which started earlier in 2024.
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