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E-Business

Oracle, CWG, Others Reveal Ways to End IT Skill Shortages

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(L-r): Austin Okere, group chief executive officer, Computer Warehouse Group, Adebayo Sanni, country managing director, Oracle Nigeria, Abdulahmed Mustapha, director general, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau and Toju Onaiwu, director, Software at Edo State ICT Agency, during a roundtable with the press in Lagos.
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Panelists at Oracle Corporation roundtable in Lagos said, unanimously, that although technology is first-rate resource and available in Nigeria, but will become useless without adequate skill sets to harness the potentials.

At the World Economic Forum 2014, it was revealed that technology added six billion jobs, even as world economy increased by $193billion.

Thus, the panelists comprising Adebayo Sanni, country managing director of Oracle Nigeria and other partners- Mr. Austin Okere, group chief executive officer, Computer Warehouse Group, Abdulahmed Mustapha, director general, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau and Toju Onaiwu, director, Software at Edo State ICT Agency, agreed that the in-coming administrations, both at the Federal And State Government levels, must not shy away from the efficacies of using information communication technologies (ICTs) to salvaging the economy from excess dependent on oil and gas.

Leading the discussion, Sanni said that while many may watch the tumbling oil price with dismay, in some ways it can be viewed in a positive light, adding that the loss of oil revenues has compelled the country to give more attention to other areas of the economy, including technology.

According to him, the Country will perform better in the IT space with requisite skill sets, especially with the private and public sector working cordially to ensure the teeming youths in the society are equipped. 

A recent survey by the CBI revealed that 39% of firms are already struggling to recruit workers with the advanced technical science, technology, engineering and Maths (STEM) skills they need, and 4% of firms believe that the shortage will persist over the next three years.

In the software and applications development space there is a shortage of developers, especially in Nigeria where the digital economy is expected to grow exponentially.

To tackle this, Sanni said that Oracle and Lagos State have just completed phase 2 of the Lagos State Workforce Development Program, to assist in training graduates on Oracle Database or Oracle E-Business Suite.

The program provides graduates with opportunities to acquire industry-relevant skills and internships within the private sector and in some of the State’s ministries.

Oracle Nigeria also offers hands-on internships at its office situated in Lagos, Abuja, and other African countries, to grow a pipeline of fresh business and ICT talent for Oracle and its West African ecosystem. Currently, 12 interns are engaged at Oracle Nigeria.

He said, “These are just 2 examples of initiatives that Oracle, as a local employer, is driving to support the creation of a technical savvy workforce – other programs include supporting universities and women in leadership activities.

“Technology is no doubt changing the way we live and work around the world and specifically in Nigeria.

“Public and private organizations have a responsibility to work together to help young people acquire key business and IT skills that can help them in turn to cultivate long-term success”.

He said that individuals, companies and governments are already using technology to innovate, bringing a fresh approach to creating new businesses or boosting growth in industries that make up the Nigerian economy.

On his part, Mr. Austin Okere, group chief executive officer, Computer Warehouse Group, said that the Company, now a Group, discovered at the early stage of the business that skill sets are prerequisite to delivering quality products and services to the customers.

He said, the idea gave birth to CWG Academy for training and retraining of CWG staff and those from the partners’ circles.

“This singular idea is now helping OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) galvanize the skills aspects of their business. Even the Lagos Business School has been receiving support from us in the form of tools; we engage the best graduates and release others to help partners and Governments to get their IT practices right.

“We worked with the World Bank to connect students in research institutions and universities. Today, there are 27 universities connected via NgREN and others on the verge of joining,” Okere said.

He identified Oracle Systems as ‘no-brainers’; requiring just interests from the youths to excel.

To, Abdulahmed Mustapha, director general, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau, army of unemployed youths portends a nation seated on a keg of gunpowder; hence the State Government has continued to work with Oracle to find better ways to serve the citizens.

He recalled that, then government of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in 2001, made moves for the computerization of the accounting processes; results are the increase in the internally generated revenue (IGR) from N600miilion to presently N25billion monthly.

Mustapha said, “Oracle Systems have helped us keep our money well in terms of record keeping, which springs over to infrastructural development. In Lagos with about 20 million populations, every Lagosian needs one service or the other. So, technology is the only apparatus that will help less than 200,000 government workers to deliver services to the people and promptly.

“Today, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (LSPSSDC) has Oracle tools to train workers and develop youths for skills that will benefit the government and other OEMs. Banks are retrenching, telecoms are looking for ways to balance their books, so, when they are not employing, how do we keep the people’s hopes high, as a government? Currently, we are working with UniLag, LASU, LASPOTECH and other tertiary institutions in the State to even get the lecturers ready, because skills transfer is important”.

He expressed confidence that IT developmental agenda of Governor Babatunde Fashola will be sustained by the in-coming administration, adding that, “We have a 25-year developmental plan from where every government in the State draws its aspiration and ICT takes centre stage in the document”.

Also, Toju Onaiwu, director, Software at Edo State ICT Agency said that the Agency was established to booster the knowledge economy of the State.

He said, “”About six years ago when we came in, the Governor Adams Oshomole felt the need to identify key developmental areas, which led to the four-years short term and eight-years long term agenda on using ICT to drive business and governance.

“Right from 2009, we identified Oracle solutions have helped us in the areas of auditing and scrutinizing the workforce for ghost workers, saving N2billion in the first year. Procurement and payment systems are done using Oracle system”.

He said the Government also identified skill sets shortage as setback to actualizing the targets but has succeeded in recruiting youths to aid the Government in that regard.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

E-Business

NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.

NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.

“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.

The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.

The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.

To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.

NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.

 


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Report Reveals African Organizations Dangerously Overestimating Cyber defences

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Many businesses are overestimating their defence against cyber attacks, which creates a significant human risk blind spot. A new KnowBe4 report exposes a worrying disconnect between what leaders think about their cyber security readiness and what employees experience.

According to the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025, based on insights from cyber security decision-makers across 30 African countries, despite high awareness, a critical gap exists in turning that awareness into actual readiness and resilient behaviour.

Key findings from the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025:

Confidence vs awareness: While cyber security awareness is high, leaders express uncertainty about their workforce’s ability to act on that awareness. Many feel employees may overestimate their capabilities in recognising, reporting and mitigating threats.

The need for adaptive and personalised security awareness training: Many companies fail to personalise security awareness training to specific roles or risk exposures.

Widespread BYOD usage: A large percentage of employees (between 41% and 80%) use their personal devices for work.

AI policy development is lagging: Many companies (46%) are still in the process of developing policies for using AI tools in the workplace.

Regional variation: Southern Africa trains more, East Africa governs AI better and West/Central Africa sees the most human-related security incidents.

This gap is significant because Africa has become an attractive target to cyber criminals, especially those that launch AI-powered attacks. A LexisNexis Risk Solutions study found 60% of South African organisations have seen an increase in AI-facilitated financial crime – above the 56% global average.

Kehinde Popoola, regional manager and key representative for West and East Africa at Rubrik, said digital transformation is gaining momentum in Africa and companies are more exposed to cyber risk. The Rubrik executive adds that amid an increase in threats, it is crucial that organisations adopt an assumed breach mindset.

The KnowBe4 research shows that cyber security preparedness and the actual structures required to support secure behaviour seem misaligned.

The report highlights that just 10% of cyber security leaders are fully confident that staff would report a phishing attack or other cyber threat, despite rating employee security awareness of cyber threats at four out of five or higher.

There is also a significant perception gap between decision-makers and general employees in Africa regarding security awareness training, with 68% of leaders believing that training is tailored to roles, compared to only a third of employees feeling adequately trained.

KnowBe4 asserts that many organisations only conduct annual or biannual training that is too generic to effectively change behaviour, contributing to uncertainty about its effectiveness.

According to another report, the KnowBe4 African Cybersecurity and Awareness Report 2025, which focuses on end-user based responses, only 43% of African respondents felt confident in their ability to recognise a cyber threat, and just one in three believed their security awareness training was adequately tailored to their role. This comparison suggests the development of a dangerous perception gap in many organisations.

“There’s a disconnect here – between what leaders think is happening and what employees are actually experiencing,” says Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “The data shows that without procedural and cultural follow-through, awareness simply doesn’t translate into readiness.”

“The continent’s cyber security posture may be more confident than it is truly resilient,” Collard adds.

 


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Domain of Deception as Attackers Deploy Spyware Under Guise of Legal Threats

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Kaspersky has detected a rapidly escalating malicious campaign that has targeted over 1,100 corporate users since June 2025. The attackers pose as a legal firm and in their emails threaten recipients with lawsuits over alleged domain name patent violations, aiming to deploy malware.

Victims who opened and launched the attached files – that mimicked legal documents – had a Trojan installed on their devices, and the attackers could spy on the content of their screens. Organisations across healthcare, finance, and education sectors have been targeted.

The campaign began with 95 emails on June 11 and has since continued to escalate. Apart from claiming that the recipient’s domain name violates patented combinations of a major brand and threatening litigation, in the email the fake legal bureau also expresses the patent holders’ interest in acquiring the domain and offers getting acquainted with the details of the alleged violations by opening the attached archive with “documents”.

It is worth noting that the attackers, likely to avoid detection, attach an archive that is not password protected, and inside it includes another archive that is password protected and a file containing the password along with it.

After the user entered the archive password and clicked on the alleged legal document inside, a Trojan was installed on the device. The user saw a message displayed that read, “This document cannot be opened on this device. Try opening it on another windows device,” and simultaneously the Tor Browser was covertly downloaded and installed in the background.

Through it, the malware regularly sent snapshots of the user’s screen to the attackers over the Tor network. The malware also autostarts whenever the computer is restarted.

“This campaign is a sophisticated blend of psychological manipulation and technical deception, leveraging fear of legal action to coerce businesses into executing harmful files hidden in attached archives. Its rapid growth since June 11 underscores the urgency for organisations to bolster defenses.

Victims face the risk of losing their private data. Robust email security, employee training, and swift incident reporting are essential to counter this evolving threat,” comments Anna Lazaricheva, spam analyst at Kaspersky.

 


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