General News
Local Software Not Good Enough for Aviation Sector – Adekitan
Adejare Adekitan, head, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) notes that Africa’s aviation sector lags in IT application.
He is a Computer Engineering graduate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Adekitan stressed the need for a comprehensive ICT package in aviation handling business in Nigeria.
He spoke to peter ugwu.
Assessment of ICT in Nigeria Aviation Industry
Although we can boast of fantastic developments in the industry in Nigeria lately, I would stress that African countries are lagging behind in the comity of aviation nations.
And Nigeria is no different.
But relatively, we are moving on compared to the way we were in the last 10 years.
The emphasis for sometime now is how we can safeguard passengers that are traveling by air.
If we must achieve this, two things we must not overlook are human capacity development and deployment of modern ICT equipment.
We have seen cases where these hi-tech equipment are installed and abuse becomes inevitable because the people meant to man them are incompetent.
Even IATA has stressed that airlines can use opportunities in ICT to grow their finances.
There is so much ICT software application we could use to manage the aviation sector; unfortunately, we don’t seem ready to apply the right remedy to our situation.
Overview of SAHCOL ICT
The major focus is to enhance, sustain or maintain the technical functions of the company.
And also to contribute towards elevating the company even beyond international ICT benchmarks in cargo and aviation handling viz-a-viz delivering service that are profitable to both parties comprising the company and her numerous public.
All areas of our operations are computerized.
Warehouse ICT installations
We have installed some ICT equipment like security base gadgets – the CCTV that covers the warehouse surroundings.
The installations were informed by the fact that our warehouse can not be out area surveillance tools, essentially to prevent or detect abnormalities.
Beside that most operations that take place within the warehouse are automated. Our operation starts the moment goods arrive at our tarmac.
So, ICT presence is critical in this aspect of business.
For instance, if you have a cargo, it needs to be captured and once that is done, it makes the rest of the process very convenient for the parties involved.
We could recall that when Sifax Group took over SAHCOL in December, 2009, one of the immediate promises made by the chairman, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi to customers and the public is the re-fleeting of the company.
In January 2010, we placed order for some units of ground handling equipment from various manufacturers in Europe and America.
And since March, 2010 we have installed equipment like Commander 15i, Commander 30i, Smart steps, Push back, Tractors, Mobile Belt Loaders, Airstarter Units, Baggage Tractors, Ground Power Units, amongst others.
This is to buttress management’s resolve to improve on services rendered to the public as it affects safety.
Cargo Tracking Gadgets
Currently, we are pursuing a process that can aide anyone track movement of his cargo in any part of the world through our tracking equipment.
We have also acquired internationally recommended software that can aide us in spotting cargo; in essence we can interact with counterparts in other countries in checkmating movements of cargo, so that any cargo company can send signal to and from us through the deployed infrastructure.
Other areas like passenger service are also computerized.
There is what we call the common user terminal equipment (CUTE), deployed for terminal operations.
With this device, as we are checking a passenger here in Lagos or in any airport that we carry out this duty in Nigeria, data records are transmitted to the passenger’s destination even before their arrival.
Although there are few areas that are still handled manually, especially in documentation, we can say to a very large extent at SAHCOL that our ICT compliance level has improved tremendously.
In addition to that, ICT is dynamic; as changes occur we would continue to harness the opportunities inherent ICT and automation processes as we are determined to contribute our quota towards Federal Government’s airport transformation agenda.
Successes
The automation has helped a lot.
It has enhanced cargo clearing; gone are the days cargo clearing are delayed due to inept practices or human interference.
It has even helped in reducing cases of losing cargo on transit.
Without mincing words, it is a global phenomenon that aviation industry can only grow its financial earnings through ICT compliance.
In other words, SAHCOL today can say it has benefited from computerizing its operations.
SAHCOL Aviation Security (SAS)
Yes, SAS is a specialized platform through which we provide services for airlines in the areas of control and supervision of access to check-in zones; passport control and detection of fake international passports/travel documents; security questioning/profiling and protection and control of luggage chain from check-in to aircraft.
Other aspects of the initiative include reconciliation between boarding pass and passenger identification; X-ray control for hand luggage and magnetic detection for passengers; supervision of aircraft zones and loading/offloading of aircraft and reconciliation of passengers and luggage in transit.
These are part of efforts to ensure maximum and passenger safety are maintained within our nation’s airports.
Data Security
We have made concerted efforts in securing our data, especially from external (cyber) attacks.
That does not mean that the internal arrangements are porous, because we know that some attack from external bodies are orchestrated from within, therefore, we have made efforts to secure our data.
Apart from the software we installed, we do carry out frequent back up and maintenances. The make sure our data are secured within and offshore.
Locally Developed Software
We have tried using some of them, but we discovered that the capacities are not enough to drive our programme.
This industry is very sensitive and not everything can fit into what we are doing, especially for security purposes.
Some of them are yet to meet international standards, which is the reason for foreign software used in most companies in the country.
There is a need for government to encourage our local productions to meet world standards, by putting enabling infrastructure in place.
By the time the standards are heightened government can show example by mandating its ministries, departments and agencies to patronize the local developers.
The truth is that we have youths who have interest in that aspect of national development.
But at present we don’t even have an incubating centre; many of our tertiary institutions offering ICT related courses are either ill-equipped or the equipment are archaic.
It may be a shocker to you that only about ten per cent of local software developers have shown interest in aviation.
If they have done that, perhaps we could have seen a way to help out. Therefore, 90 per cent of software used in the sector is imported.
Power challenges
I want to believe that since the Sosoliso crash few years back, the airport managers (Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria – FAAN), has done a lot of thing to plug incessant power outages. Although it was only recently we learnt the air crash was as result of power outage.
Especially in Lagos, a lot of things are been done. I had opportunity to be at the Control Tower, of which they recently installed new gadgets to back up their systems in times of power failure.
Of course, the Control Tower has to be powered 24 hours of the day. My assessment of the situation is that there are improvements in critical areas.
Human development
Permit me to emphasis that it amount to wrong approach for us to believe that our challenges are over, once equipment are in place, without individuals with the technical knowledge to handle them.
The two are married together. However, we cannot do without human error in an industry like this.
But for us to minimize such errors constant training and awareness campaign must not be ruled out.
There are certain areas that human capacity development can be compromised without it showing much in the operations of such industry, but in a technical field like aviation, we can not trade it for anything.
For instance, when the Dana air crash happened, the first eyebrow raised was human error.
To set example, as we are in the period of expansion, every staff of SAHCOL is expected to master ICT equipment usage.
Cargo handling Industry
Well, cargo handling is not different from Nigerian aviation industry.
Before now, the Nigerian Aviation industry was a passenger-driven sector. The focus was largely on proceeds from passenger air travels.
But today, the business model has the ability to satisfy the yawning of travelers who are not far from those engaged in global supply chain.
The sector contributes immensely to the economic development of the world and Nigeria in particular.
So, we are working towards increasing our cargo base, constructing a new warehouse. Nowadays, e-ticking or booking is the order, we are working towards perfecting that aspect of our operation.
NLNG and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have commenced the construction of a research and innovation centre at Rivers State University, aimed at strengthening indigenous capacity in computer and electrical engineering.
The NLNG Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering (RICCEE), which was inaugurated yesterday, is the company’s largest Human Capital Development Institutional Strengthening project to date.
The centre is expected to provide specialised training, advanced research facilities and technological solutions for challenges in Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors.
It will also house a professorial chair and operate as a research and development centre where industry-focused solutions, particularly for NLNG, can be developed and potentially commercialised.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, described the project as a strategic investment in the country’s future and evidence of the company’s commitment to sustainable human capital development.
Falade, who was represented by NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said the facility would improve the university’s ability to produce highly skilled professionals while ensuring that research responds to industry needs.
He said the centre would also help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical industry requirements by creating opportunities for researchers and professionals to work together on innovations with commercial and developmental value.
Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, represented by the Director, Capacity Building, Abayomi Bamidele, said the project marked an important step in advancing the Board’s Human Capital Development objectives.
According to him, the centre is part of the Board’s Institutional Strengthening Programme, which seeks to build lasting partnerships with higher institutions through infrastructure that supports teaching, research, innovation and practical skills development.
Ogbe challenged the centre to emerge as a hub for discovery, creativity and technological advancement, where students can develop innovative ideas, researchers tackle real-world problems and industry can find reliable research and development partners.
The Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, said the project aligned with the institution’s 2026–2030 strategic plan, particularly its focus on research collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“We envisage the Centre as a world-class hub where researchers and students can develop practical solutions to engineering and technological challenges, where university-industry collaboration can flourish, and where innovative ideas can be transformed into useful products, technologies and services,” he said.
The centre will occupy about 9,336 square metres within the university and include specialised laboratories for electronics and signal processing, robotics and embedded systems, software engineering, and digital forensics and cybersecurity.
The facility will also feature solar energy provisions, energy-efficient lighting and other environmentally responsible systems designed to reduce operating costs and support reliable research activities.
RICCEE is one of NCDMB’s Institutional Strengthening Projects designed to improve learning institutions through modern infrastructure, research facilities, technical equipment and training aligned with industry needs.
General News
NITDA Seals Strategic Deals with Goose FL and Fireflies AI to Power $1 Trillion Digital Economy Vision
In a significant step toward expanding Nigeria’s tech footprint on the global stage, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Canadian tech companies Goose FL and Fireflies AI.
The signings took place during the Nigeria–Canada Investment Forum and the Nigeria Investment Economic Conference in Toronto, Canada, witnessed by NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.
The strategic partnership centers on three core pillars designed to accelerate the nation’s digital roadmap:
- Expanding Financial Inclusion: Developing innovative technology solutions to broaden access to digital financial services and create sustainable economic opportunities for underserved communities.
- Deploying Local AI Infrastructure: Establishing indigenous Artificial Intelligence infrastructure and services to strengthen Nigeria’s internal capacity to build, manage, and benefit from AI technologies locally.
- Building a Stronger Digital Economy: Driving long-term economic growth through strategic global partnerships, technology transfer, innovation, and digital capacity development.
This international collaboration directly aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030, anchored by innovation, digital technology, and human capital development.
By forging key global ties, NITDA continues to position Nigeria as a rising leader in the digital economy, ensuring that emerging tools like AI deliver real, tangible value for local citizens and businesses.
Anambra State Government says it is exploring partnerships with the Federal Government and other stakeholders to extend digital connectivity to underserved rural communities across the state.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Anambra State ICT Agency, Mr Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, disclosed this during a virtual media engagement with journalists on Thursday.
Agbata said rural connectivity remained a major challenge because telecommunications operators were often reluctant to invest heavily in communities where network deployment might not be commercially viable.
He said the state was willing to explore opportunities to leverage Federal Government infrastructure and the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to extend connectivity to underserved communities.
“We understand what digital inclusion means because we are dealing directly with these communities,” Agbata said.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that rural residents are not excluded from the benefits of digital government and the wider digital economy simply because of where they live.
Agbata said the effort formed part of the state’s broader digital transformation agenda, which is targeting deeper digitalisation of government services and a more digitally enabled business environment by 2030.
He said the second phase of the agency’s digital transformation agenda would focus on e-governance, digital infrastructure, smart government and the use of emerging technologies to drive development.
“My core vision is that we would have digitised every single government entity in Anambra State,” he said.
The ICT boss said the digital transformation agenda would extend beyond government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to businesses and residents across the state.
He said the agency was already developing websites for government MDAs and transforming them from mere information platforms into channels for delivering government services.
“We are building websites for all the MDAs. We are also automating them to be able to carry out services and give government support and government services through their websites,” he said.
Agbata said the initiative would reduce the need for citizens to physically visit government offices to access basic services.
He said the Smart Anambra platform had already demonstrated growing demand for remote access to government services.
According to him, the platform recorded about 14,000 visits between July 9 and July 29, averaging approximately 700 visits daily, despite limited publicity.
He said the data indicated that residents were interested in accessing government services online, including applications, permits and identification-related processes.
“What the data is already showing us is that we really need to build a system that allows people to actually get government services remotely,” Agbata said.
He explained that the objective was to allow residents to initiate processes online, complete forms remotely and only visit government offices where physical presence was eventually required.
This, he said, would reduce the time and cost citizens spend travelling to Awka or other government offices to access services.
Agbata said services in areas including hospitals, schools and other government processes were being connected to Smart Anambra.
Anambra Targets 2030 for Digital Government
Agbata said the state’s 2030 target was to deepen the digitalisation of government services and create an environment where businesses could increasingly operate within the formal digital economy.
He said the agency was working with the Ministry of Commerce to promote the formalisation of businesses, particularly SMEs and businesses operating in major markets.
“One of the biggest challenges that we have is that SMEs are not formalised enough,” he said, adding that the agency was exploring partnerships to address the challenge.
The ICT agency boss said the transformation would be gradual because major government initiatives required the necessary approvals and resources.
On the possibility of making Anambra completely paperless, Agbata disclosed that the State Executive Council was already operating a paperless system.
He, however, said the entire civil service might continue to operate a combination of digital and paper-based processes for some time because of the complexity of government operations.
“What might happen is a dual situation,” he said, adding that selected MDAs could be used as pilots for deeper digital transformation.
Agbata also disclosed that the Anambra State ICT Agency had commenced the deployment of a locally trained artificial intelligence (AI) system to automate its operations and explore applications in governance, revenue management and public-sector productivity.
He explained that the agency did not develop a frontier large language model from scratch because of the huge computing and financial resources required.
Instead, he said, it adopted an open-source model, modified it and was training it for specific local use cases.
“We have started doing our own local AI system. It is an open-source system, so we didn’t build our own frontier model. We basically looked at open source and modified it, and we are training it,” Agbata said.
He said the system had already been deployed to automate the agency’s operations end-to-end.
“We have used it to automate our agency end-to-end. Everything that we do now is currently automated,” he said.
Agbata said the agency was exploring how the model could be applied across other areas of government to improve productivity, address revenue leakages and strengthen governance.
He said the AI initiative formed a major part of what he described as the agency’s “2.0” phase following his reappointment by Gov. Chukwuma Soludo.
According to him, the second phase would build on achievements in infrastructure, capacity development, e-governance and smart government while placing greater emphasis on AI and emerging technologies.
Agbata also said the state’s free public Wi-Fi initiative remained operational, stressing that the programme was introduced before the electioneering period.
“The free Wi-Fi didn’t start as a political thing, a campaign thing. It started way before the campaigns,” he said.
He explained that the strategy was adjusted during the campaigns to enable residents to follow the governor’s activities and participate in live engagements while on the move.
According to him, existing Wi-Fi locations, including facilities at the state Secretariat, remain operational, although occasional downtime occurs, particularly during periods of adverse weather.
“There are downtimes now and then because with the rains and all of that, these things have their uptime and their downtimes, but it is still very much available,” he said.
He disclosed that there were currently no plans to establish additional Wi-Fi locations, noting that existing sites were still providing services.
Agbata said the state would continue to develop digital skills and education programmes, including Smart Schools and other capacity-development initiatives.
He also called for stronger collaboration among government, technology companies, telecommunications operators, local technology manufacturers and other stakeholders to accelerate the state’s digital transformation.
He cited the procurement of about 2,000 computers supplied by indigenous technology company, Zinox, as an example of the state’s engagement with local technology providers.
Agbata said the agency would remain open to partnerships capable of supporting Anambra’s technology agenda.
He said the ultimate objective was to build an Anambra where residents and businesses could increasingly interact with government digitally, while technology becomes a central driver of economic development across the state.
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