Telecom
Nigerian Youths Must Execute Govt. Contracts with Conscience – Ekeh, Zinox Boss
Leo Stan Ekeh, Africa’s leading digital entrepreneur and Chairman, Zinox Group, has once again urged young business owners and startups in Africa to demonstrate a high level of integrity and diligence when executing government contracts as the quality of their country defines their future.
Ekeh made this call during a recent mentorship programme with a select group of African foreign-based postgraduate students in the latest edition of an annual lecture series aimed at grooming the next generation of certified entrepreneurs.
Speaking during the virtual session which was monitored online, Ekeh counselled the participants to shun the overwhelming temptation to treat government contracts as an avenue for overnight enrichment or sub-standard implementation, adding that this often has disastrous consequences. Citing the importance of ethical standards and principles as uncompromising foundations of a successful business, the Zinox boss lamented the disturbing tendency of young, impressionable entrepreneurs to get easily excited and throw caution to the winds, especially when it comes to executing government contracts.
Consequently, Ekeh, a Forbes Best of Africa Leading Tech Icon, sounded a note of caution, warning that these acts can irreparably fracture the trust reposed by the government in entrusting major projects to startups or even to other established firms with proven capacities in their respective countries, further resulting in capital flight and erosion of the giant strides recorded in local content development.
‘‘Government is the biggest spender in any economy. Some of you, while doing business, may get a chance to execute some projects for governments, whether at sub-national or Federal level. It is a call to service and an opportunity to prove the growing faith in our indigenous capacities.
‘‘Having the opportunity to execute a government contract must, therefore, be seen as a privilege and not as a chance to outrageously inflate figures, deliver shoddy outputs or unduly enrich yourself overnight. You must seize the opportunity to grow your social capital and open the doors for others to enjoy the confidence that has been reposed in you.
‘‘There is a spiritual commitment that should naturally come with such high-profile deliverables. As a matter of fact, it must be the signature of your business that you can be counted on to deliver excellent results for any contract you win, whether big or small. I have always emphasized the importance of building yourself as a personal collateral as an entrepreneur. It is the only way you can gain the confidence of your suppliers, partners and the people or establishments that patronize your business.
Ekeh lectured that it is a fact that doing things properly in some African countries sometimes attracts pains from competition who write frivolous petitions to security agencies to inconvenience the preferred company, but he advised them to stay on the path of honour and provide time to answer those queries as they come up, instead of compromising on quality. Using Nigeria as an example, he disclosed that for every big tech contract won by his company, they had always expected petitions from faceless blackmailers to authorities such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), among others. However, he advised his audience not to be deterred by these antics.
‘‘The only way to win is doing things right. I am lucky all my investments are in the tech sector and technology does not lie, so we always won,” he stated.
Urging the budding entrepreneurs not to lose hope because of the ongoing difficulties in the macroeconomic environment, Ekeh expressed optimism that the African economy would survive the present challenges and rebound stronger.
‘‘The current challenges in the economy are not new. We have witnessed similar cycles in the past. But our economy has always shown resilience to rebound from them. Also, you must bear in mind that the difficulties are not only local. The global economy is passing through a period of intense stress, further worsened by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and potentially set to be impacted further by the latest confrontation between Israel and Hamas.
‘‘In times like these, the failure rate of startups and other businesses increase. However, difficult times also represent periods of great opportunities. It is your responsibility to sniff out those opportunities which abound around you and take advantage of them.
‘‘You must always remember that to succeed, you cannot take pleasure before pains. In setting up your business, you must have a clear roadmap and vision. Hype is good and gets you noticed but you must work very hard behind the scenes to fill up the blank spaces with substance. Otherwise, the hype will fizzle out and you will have nothing concrete to stand on. You must also remain spiritually strong, retain a healthy risk appetite, and rely a lot on your intuition and common-sense logic to make a success of your venture. Finally, never forget that your passion must pay your bills,’’ he concluded.
Contrary to media some media reports yesterday, Mafab Communications, one of the companies granted Fifth Generation (5G) licences by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has actually rolled out its 5G network services in Abuja since 2023.
According to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek findings, the rollout came almost a year since the telco paid $273.6 million for spectrum in the 3.5GHz band as part of a government auction.
Mafab Communications, has, not however kept to its promise to to strengthen its commercial operations by March 2025 as its services has remained skeletal since the media launch.
It said that it will roll out its high-speed 5G services through 102 operational sites strategically located in Kano and Abuja but that did not happen as at close of March.
An insider in the company, however assured that starting this month, subscribers with Mafab’s 5G routers will be able to enjoy ultra-fast connectivity on its expanding network.
This move aims to capture a wider share of Nigeria’s growing demand for 5G services.
Dr Musbahu Bashir, founder and chairman, Mafab Communications, said during the rollout launch that the telco will offer both voice and data services nationwide.
Additionally, Nigerian cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano, and Kaduna have been listed for the deployment of 5G services while those not on the list will have services deployed at a later stage.
“The rollout of Mafab Communications 5G network is the beginning of immense opportunities for the country as it represents Nigeria’s capabilities and infinite possibilities,” he said.
“The prospect of increased job opportunities as a consequence of the value-chain benefits the technology will generate and offer is the dream we have all gathered here to launch today,” Bashir continued.
Telecom
Samsung Introduces Local Nigerian Languages to Galaxy Devices, Celebrating Cultural Diversity
Samsung Electronics has taken a bold step in enhancing user experience and inclusivity by introducing Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba as official language options on selected Samsung Galaxy devices.
L-R: Stephen Okwara, Head, Product Management, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa; Joy Tim-Ayoola, Group Head, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa; Tae Sun Lee, Samsung Electronics West Africa CEO; Oge Maduagwu, Head of Marketing Samsung Electronics West Africa, and Nathan Lee, Regional Business Lead, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa, at the launch of Nigeria local language integration on Galaxy S25, A56, A36, and A26 devices, on April 03, 2025.
The feature, which is now available on the Galaxy S25, A56, A36, and A26 devices, reaffirms Samsung’s commitment to delivering innovative technology that speaks the language of its users.
With this groundbreaking update, Samsung users across Nigeria can now navigate their smartphones in their preferred local language, making technology more accessible, while also upholding our cultural heritage.
A Celebration of Culture and Technology
To mark the launch, Samsung hosted a cultural-themed press briefing featuring traditional music, local cuisine, and a showcase of the new language feature. Employees and guests attended in traditional Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa attires, celebrating Nigeria’s rich cultural diversity.
Samsung also announced plans to expand local language support to more devices in the near future, reinforcing its dedication to making technology more inclusive for African users.
Empowering Users Through Language
The integration of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba on Samsung devices reflects the brand’s mission to bridge the digital gap and enhance user engagement. Speaking at the press conference, Oge Maduagwu, Head of Marketing, Samsung Electronics West Africa, said, “At Samsung, we understand that technology is most powerful when it is accessible to all.
“By incorporating our local Nigerian languages, we are making our devices more intuitive and relatable, ensuring that millions of Nigerians can interact with their smartphones in the language they love and understand best”.
Seamless Language Transition on Galaxy Devices
Stephen Okwara, Head of Product Management, Samsung Electronics West Africa added, “The new local language feature is designed to deliver a seamless user experience, allowing customers to easily switch between languages. Users can activate Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba on the Galaxy S25, A26, A36, and A56 by navigating to: Settings > Language & Input > Select Language
“This update enhances smartphone usability, particularly for those who prefer their native language over English, ensuring greater digital inclusivity, enhancing digital literacy and encouraging more users to engage with technology in their native tongues” He concluded.
Availability
Customers can visit all Samsung Experience Stores or authorized retailers in Nigeria to learn more and experience the feature firsthand.
Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, has released the 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report, which details attacker behaviour and techniques from over 400 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Incident Response (IR) cases in 2024.
The report found that the primary way attackers gained initial access to networks (56% of all cases across MDR and IR) was by exploiting external remote services, which includes edge devices such as firewalls and VPNs, by leveraging valid accounts.
The combination of external remote services and valid accounts aligns with the top root causes of attacks. For the second year in row, compromised credentials were the number one root cause of attacks (41% of cases). This was followed by exploited vulnerabilities (21.79%) and brute force attacks (21.07%).
Understanding The Speed of Attacks
When analyzing MDR and IR investigations, the Sophos X-Ops team looked specifically at ransomware, data exfiltration, and data extortion cases to identify how fast attackers progressed through the stages of an attack within an organization. In those three types of cases, the median time between the start of an attack and exfiltration was only 72.98 hours (3.04 days). Furthermore, there was only a median of 2.7 hours from exfiltration to attack detection.
“Passive security is no longer enough. While prevention is essential, rapid response is critical. Organizations must actively monitor networks and act swiftly against observed telemetry. Coordinated attacks by motivated adversaries require a coordinated defense. For many organizations, that means combining business-specific knowledge with expert-led detection and response. Our report confirms that organizations with proactive monitoring detect attacks faster and experience better outcomes,” said John Shier, field CISO.
Other Key Findings from the 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report:
· Attackers Can Take Control of a System in Just 11 Hours: The median time between attackers’ initial action and their first (often successful) attempt to breach Active Directory (AD) – arguably one of the most important assets in any Windows network – was just 11 hours. If successful, attackers can more easily take control of the organization.
· Top Ransomware Groups in Sophos Cases: Akira was the most frequently encountered ransomware group in 2024, followed by Fog and LockBit (despite a multi-government takedown of LockBit earlier in the year).
· Dwell Time is Down to Just 2 Days: Overall, dwell time – the time from the start of an attack to when it is detected – decreased from 4 days to just 2 in 2024, largely due to the addition of MDR cases to the dataset.
· Dwell Time in IR Cases: Dwell time remained stable at 4 days for ransomware attacks and 11.5 days for non-ransomware cases.
· Dwell Time in MDR Cases: In MDR investigations, dwell time was only 3 days for ransomware cases and just 1 day for non-ransomware cases, suggesting MDR teams are able to more quickly detect and respond to attacks.
Ransomware Groups Work Overnight: In 2024, 83% of ransomware binaries were dropped outside of the targets’ local business hours.
· Remote Desktop Protocol Continues to Dominate: RDP was involved in 84% of MDR/IR cases, making it the most frequently abused Microsoft tool.
To shore up their defenses, Sophos recommends that companies do the following:
· Close exposed RDP ports
· Use phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) wherever possible
· Patch vulnerable systems in a timely manner, with a particular focus on internet-facing devices and services
· Deploy EDR or MDR and ensure it is proactively monitored 24/7
· Establish a comprehensive incident response plan and test it regularly through simulations or tabletop exercises
Read the full It Takes Two: The 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report on Sophos.com.
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