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Minister says Qualitative Education is Tied to ICT Development

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Mallam Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education, says the qualitative education in the modern world was intrinsically tied to the development and deployment of ICT in education.

The Minister who was represented by the Director, ICT, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ifegwu Orji during the inauguration of the Unites Cisco Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation Centre at Queens College in Yaba said: ”ICT as an enhancer of education has transformed education delivery from being the transmission of information by the teacher as the custodian of knowledge to the learner as the receiver of the knowledge transmitted and the school, from being a teacher-centered agency.”

He said: “Today, teachers are seen as facilitators or coaches of learning or in some cases, as change agents or activators and the students as active partners in learning.

”The school also had become an open space for learners who initiate and acquire their own learning and expand their knowledge through interaction among themselves and with the teachers.

“This kind of interaction is only made easier by the Internet of Things as it connects people, processes devices and data.

According to him, with the Internet of Thing (IoT), more engaging and measurable method of education that can provide knowledge to a greater number of students in a manner that fits their learning styles and needs are enhanced. He explained that The Internet of Thing (IoT), refers to the ever-growing network of physical objects with IP address for internet connectivity and communication that occurs between them and other internet-enabled devices.

His word: “It also enhances the volume and values of information that can be collected, thus, allowing educators and administrators to turn data into actionable insight like never before envisaged.

“In order to demonstrate our commitment towards the delivery of qualitative education with the resultant production of the requisite manpower, that can survive in the modern society, contributions to sustainable  national development and compete globally, we have approved the establishment of the Cisco Unites IoT Innovation Centres in six Federal Unity Colleges in the six geo-political zones for the 2017/2018 academic session  for which we are here today.

“Some of the  Unity colleges that have benefitted from this project are Federal Science and Technical College Yaba as pilot, Federal Government Girls College Buari in Abuja, Federal Government College Kano and Queens College Lagos, as well as Federal Government College Enugu among others.

“They will all serve as a hub for open innovation to showcase what is with digital transformation and Internet if Things in education.

“We have also approved the establishment of the Cisco network academy in all the unity colleges under Cisco’s corporate social  responsibility (CRS) in the education sector and other Cisco long term CRS programnes.

“It is our hopes that these programmes will fast track the achievement of ICT-enhanced education and would empower our students and teachers to adapt to the rapidly changing knowledge requirements and skills.

The Minister maintained that the goal of the Federal Government is to see the education sector as a whole, embrace the use of new technologies to meet the human resources requirements of nation-building for the attainment of sustainable soci-economic development.

He posited that government was optimistic of enhancing the sector for global competitiveness as well as the individual’s ability to survive in the contemporary society.

While lauding the partnership and contribution of Cisco Unites Academy for their support and donation of the IoT centres to the colleges, he added that the gesture would further boost students learning.

Meanwhile, the Director, of the Unites Networking Academy, Mr Toyin Olatayo, on his part said that the inauguration of the IoT project in Queens college was the third in the series.

According to him, efforts were underway to replicate same in all the 104 unity colleges across the country in two years. Olatayo noted that rapid changes in technology trends are forcing humans to keep up in order to stand the chance of surviving in a competitive world.

He maintained that technology has, and would continue to transform every aspect of human lives, be it education, governance, business and even personal relationships.

“There is digital transformation across countries and companies. Digital transformation driving opportunities. We want to bridge opportunities between students and the digital economy,” Olatayo said.

He added that the objectives of the Unites Cisco IoT Innovation Centre were to create technology solutions to unlock opportunities at a speed of rapid prototyping.


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Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

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President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

President Donald Trump

Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.

Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.

With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.

Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.

Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.

The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.


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OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

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OpenAI maker of ChatGPT is rolling out a health-focused feature to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s used by nearly a billion users.

Named ChatGPT Health, the new feature aims to provide users with health and wellness information. This, as health is one of the most common ways people use ChatGPT, according to OpenAI.

In a blog post, Microsoft-backed OpenAI says de-identified analysis of conversations show that over 230 million people globally ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.

ChatGPT Health will also “securely” connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations with a user’s own health information, making responses more relevant and useful.

“Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness – while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians.”

According to OpenAI, health information is often scattered across portals, apps, wearables, PDFs, and medical notes making it hard to see the full picture, and people are left to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own.

“ChatGPT Health builds on these so responses are informed by your health information and context. You can now securely connect medical records and wellness apps – like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal – so ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the trade-offs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.”

According to the company, ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care, adding that it is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. “Instead, it helps you navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time – not just moments of illness – so you can feel more informed and prepared for important medical conversations.

“To keep your health information protected and secure, Health operates as a separate space with enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data. Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models. If you start a health-related conversation in ChatGPT, we’ll suggest moving into Health for these additional protections.”

OpenAI adds that access to ChatGPT Health has started with a small group of early users to learn and continue refining the experience, adding that users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK are eligible.

“As we make improvements, we plan to expand access and make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.

“Medical record integrations and some apps are available in the US only, and connecting Apple Health requires iOS.”


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Kaspersky Shares AI Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026

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Kaspersky experts outline how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in 2026, both for individual users and for businesses. Large language models (LLMs) are influencing defensive capabilities while simultaneously expanding opportunities for threat actors.

Deepfakes are becoming a mainstream technology, and awareness will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly discussing the risks of synthetic content and training employees to reduce the likelihood of falling victim to it. As the volume of deepfakes grows, so does the range of formats in which they appear.

At the same time, awareness is rising not only within organisations but also among regular users: end consumers encounter fake content more often and better understand the nature of such threats. As a result, deepfakes are becoming a stable element of the security agenda, requiring a systematic approach to training and internal policies.

Deepfake quality will improve through better audio and a lowering barrier to entry. The visual quality of deepfakes is already high, while realistic audio remains the main area for future growth.

At the same time, content generation tools are becoming easier to use: even non-experts can now create a mid-quality deepfake in just a few clicks. As a result, the average quality continues to rise, creation becomes accessible to a far broader audience, and these capabilities will inevitably continue to be leveraged by cybercriminals.

Online deepfakes will continue to evolve but remain tools for advanced users. Real-time face and voice swapping technologies are improving, but their setup still requires more advanced technical skills. Wide adoption is unlikely, yet the risks in targeted scenarios will grow: increasing realism and the ability to manipulate video through virtual cameras make such attacks more convincing.

Efforts to develop a reliable system for labelling AI-generated content will continue. There are still no unified criteria for reliably identifying synthetic content, and current labels are easy to bypass or remove, especially when working with open-source models. For this reason, new technical and regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing the problem are likely to emerge.

Open-weight models will approach top closed models in many cybersecurity-related tasks, which create more opportunities for misuse. Closed models still offer stricter control mechanisms and safeguards, limiting abuse.

However, open-source systems are rapidly catching up in functionality and circulate without comparable restrictions. This blurs the difference between proprietary models and open-source models both of which can be used efficiently for undesired or malicious purposes.

The line between legitimate and fraudulent AI-generated content will become increasingly blurred. AI can already produce well-crafted scam emails, convincing visual identities, and high-quality phishing pages.

At the same time, major brands are adopting synthetic materials in advertising, making AI-generated content look familiar and visually “normal.” As a result, distinguishing real from fake will become even more challenging, both for users and for automated detection systems.

AI will become a cross-chain tool in cyberattacks and be used across most stages of the kill chain. Threat actors already employ LLMs to write code, build infrastructure, and automate operational tasks.

Further advances will reinforce this trend: AI will increasingly support multiple stages of an attack, from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools. Attackers will also work to hide signs of AI involvement, making such operations harder to analyse.

“While AI tools are being used in cyberattacks, they are also becoming a more common tool in security analysis and influence how SOC teams work. Agent-based systems will be able to continuously scan infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and gather contextual information for investigations, reducing the amount of manual routine work.

“As a result, specialists will shift from manually searching for data to making decisions based on already-prepared context. In parallel, security tools will transition to natural-language interfaces, enabling prompts instead of complex technical queries,” adds Vladislav Tushkanov, Research Development Group Manager at Kaspersky.

 


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