Telecom
Lagos State Begins Move to Transform into Smart City
The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans that would transform the state from a mega city to a smart city equipped with infrastructure and facilities that work seamlessly to enhance life experiences.
Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State disclosed this at the ongoing Art of Technology Lagos 1.0 (AOT) conference holding at oriental hotel, Lagos.
According to him, “At the inception of our administration, we had a vision of growing Lagos State with a population above 20 million from a mega city to a smart city equipped with infrastructure and facilities that work seamlessly to enhance life experiences.
“Our dreams and vision of transforming the landscape of Lagos State was anchored on the pillars of our administration’s “T.H.EM.E.S” philosophy to tackle perceived challenges.
“The challenges facing an emerging mega city with the potentials and possibilities available in Lagos State include the administration and management of integrated and intermodal transportation to ease movement of human and material assets, access to human capital development through quality education, promotion of entertainment, arts and culture as socioeconomic enterprise vehicles driven by technology.”
The governor also announced that he had set aside N250million seed money to encourage research and development, innovation and ideas creation, as part of his bid to achieve his smart city dream
He stated that the fund would be administered by a science, research and innovation council he has constituted.
The council would be chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
He also noted that the administration is setting aside $687,000 start-up funds for investment in research and development of tech-focused solutions across the six pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
The Governor said the establishment of the Council and innovation funds officially began the process of implementing strategies that would help in the realization of the Smart City initiative of the State.
He further noted the innovation funds would also be directed to support Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research focusing on solving issues of national significance.
The Governor also launched Open Government Initiative, Innovation Master Plan and Lagos State Solution Hub to further drive synergy between policymakers in the public sector and innovators in the private sector.
On his part, Olatunbosun Alake, Special Adviser to the Governor, Innovation, and Technology, explained that the goal of the Art of Technology Conference was to seek strategic collaborations with the tech ecosystem and private sectors.
Alake said it was pertinent to start driving synergy between policymakers in the public sector and innovators in the private sector as this will go a long way in achieving the smart city ambition.
He disclosed that the Lagos State Government is determined to drive its transformation agenda and willing to partner with relevant stakeholders in the various industries.
Alake called on young developers and tech startups numbering over 1,500 at the conference to start taking advantage of the Lagos Solutions Hub which was launched by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadiri Hamzat.
The Lagos Solutions HUB a platform where proposals, solutions, and ideas are submitted for evaluation.
He emphasized that the middle man barrier has been broken through the platform as there is no need for any developer or startup to get familiarised with government officials for their proposals to get attention.
Hakeem Popoola Fahm, commissioner for science and technology, speaking at the event, said that the state has embarked on massive deployment of fibre optics that would cover a total of 6000 kilometres, 3000 of that to be achieved in 2020 and the other 3000 in 2021.
He noted that the state is installing 2000 high definition cameras for safety and traffic management, which will also aid e-government.
According to him Lagos need efficient urban and traffic management, waste disposal and a robust IT infrastructure and connectivity.
Fahm said the vision of the Lagos Smart city is to create a community of new shared value initiative.
Lagos, he said is on a journey to be a smart city and it can no longer do things the same way.
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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