E-Business
Stakeholders Seek Digitization as National Strategy
Stakeholders from diverse backgrounds have unanimously called for digitalisation to form part of our national strategy in Nigeria.
They made this call at the Business Journal’ 2nd Annual Lecture and Awards held at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.
The event had as its theme”Digital Nigeria: The Path To Sustainable Economic Growth.”
Tope Smart, group managing director, NEM Insurance Plc and chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association said that the country needs a very robust Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Infrastructure to be able to move forward.
He noted that the unfortunate thing was that the country was yet to attain that level of digital advancement.
According to him,“Because digitalisation encompasses transparency Nigeria needs this level of advancement to solve the issue of corruption.
“The Federal Government should ensure that digitalisation forms part of our national discuss so that we can use it to boost our economy.
“Digitalisation is something that citizens and the government of any country should embrace to solve issues of employment among others”.
Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission stated that digitization has emerged as a key driver and enabler of socio-economic benefits for any countries.
He noted that we must define and understand certain concepts that will transit us to Digital nation.
Prof Danbatta explained that digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; that is the process of moving to a digital business.
He said that digitalization will accelerate economic growth and facilitates job creation in the country.
On what the commission is doing to ensure digitalization and economic diversification of the Nigerian economy, he stated that they are committed to the implementation of the National Broadband Plan and so many other Initiatives.
Danbatta said, “The Nigerian Communications Commission will continue to promote and facilitate, through appropriate regulatory interventions, the expansion of pervasive broadband infrastructure that will stimulate the provision of e-products and e-services across Nigeria.
“The NCC will encourage the digitalization of information to be transformed into business and economic activities that drive national growth and development.
“The economic diversification of the Nigerian economy will give impetus for increase mobilization of all resources and increase revenues accruable to government.
“This will cause an exponential increase in productive activities in industry, manufacturing, infrastructure development, health, and agriculture to stimulate growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
“The NCC shall continue to provide the conducive regulatory environment for increased private sector investment and expansion of economic activities.
“The interventions of the NCC play a vital role in supporting the evolution of digital processes and appreciation in various sectors of the economy.
“From Setting up Public Access Points and ICT Training Centres, the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), the Advanced Digital Awareness programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI), the School Knowledge Centre (SKC), all of which have benefitted over 500 schools across the country, the educational sector in Nigeria has definitely felt the digital wand of the NCC.
“The NCC continues to promote and facilitate universal access to ICT to ensure implementation of e-taxation, ecommerce and e-government financial sector areas, which were identified as the economic enhancement needed for sustainability of the Nigerian economy.
“Improving user (traveler) experience such as online ticketing, boarding, and check in processes; and Vehicle tracking and navigations through mobile and Internet services, are also some key examples of how Telecommunications is enhancing Nigeria’s digital profile.
The deployment of Optic Fibre transmission network has been adopted in the “Open Access Model” to bridge the current digital gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses and the success of this model is evident in the tremendous growth witnessed in the provision of broadband services by all major players in the industry through one technology or the other.
“Presently, Nigeria has achieved 33.72% Broadband penetration, thus over 64 million Nigerians are presently connected to broadband internet services. This is an encouraging leap from the 8.5% penetration in 2015″.
Mr Prince Cookey, publisher, Business Journal, said that the event was a rare opportunity for stakeholders to critically evaluate the opportunities and challenges of digital disruption on the various segments of the Nigerian economy.
Cookey said that the main focus was to offer a roadmap on how Nigeria could reap bountifully from the digital transformation era to achieve sustainable economic growth.
The Business journal Annual Lecture Series is a platform to examine and discuss emerging issues in the Nigerian economy and generate workable solutions going forward.
It brings stakeholders across sectors together to review the state-of-affairs in the economy through robust conversation.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every Nigerian is enrolled in the national identity database before the end of 2026, according to Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general and chief executive officer of the agency.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general and chief executive officer, NIMC
Coker-Odusote, who appeared on Channels Television, said the directive forms part of the federal government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive national identity system capable of supporting effective governance, planning, and service delivery.
“The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian,” she said.
According to her, NIMC is working with partners under the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project to accelerate nationwide enrolment.
“What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf,” she explained.
She stressed that the National Identification Number (NIN) remains a unique identifier, ensuring that every individual is registered only once.
“That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once,” the NIMC DG added.
Coker-Odusote said Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a comprehensive identity database essential for national planning.
“It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million.
“Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian”, she said.
Responding to concerns about whether an individual could obtain multiple identities by registering in different locations or under different names, the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents such occurrences.
She explained that while the previous system could accept duplicate enrolments before detecting them later, the current process automatically identifies and invalidates multiple registrations.
“The legacy system had no way of verifying at the front end whether you had already been captured. Once the record comes into the system, it flags it as a duplicate or that the person already exists in the database.
“You would only have one identity generated for you. The other record goes into a deduplication bucket where it is invalidated,” she said.
The NIMC DG added that biometric verification, including fingerprints and facial recognition, makes it virtually impossible for one person to maintain multiple identities.
“Absolutely. One of the things that this Act has done is to cement our role in capturing biometrics. Private and public sector organisations will no longer capture biometrics independently. They will validate identities through API integration with NIMC.
“The telcos are already doing that with us. If you need a SIM card, they capture your facial biometrics, which are matched against our database in real time to confirm that you are who you claim to be. We’re using biometric validation to tighten security around identity confirmation,” she said.
The remarks come weeks after Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 into law on June 26, repealing the 2007 legislation.
The new law reinforces the “One Person, One Identity” policy by making the NIN the country’s foundational identity credential for accessing government and essential private services, including banking, passport applications, tax administration, pensions, land transactions, and consumer credit.
It also introduces stiffer penalties for identity theft, multiple registrations and unauthorised access to personal identity data, while strengthening data privacy protections and granting NIMC wider powers to investigate identity-related offences.
Cybersecurity and privacy experts are raising concerns around the growing trend of sports fans using generative AI to create World Cup-related images, mock-ups, predictions and social media content.
Whilst offering new ways for supporters to engage with major sporting events, these tools also introduce risks that many users may underestimate. In light of this, Kaspersky has shared the key risks fans should keep in mind when using generative AI tools, so they can continue enjoying the championship with peace of mind.
When fan AI goes rogue. A growing number of AI tools are being used to create World Cup-themed visuals, avatars, memes and other fan content. While these services may seem creative and harmless, not all of them come from trusted providers.
Many are launched quickly to capitalise on interest around major events, increasing the likelihood that users will interact with platforms that offer limited transparency around data handling, lack adequate privacy and security measures, or might even be designed with malicious intent.
Personal data at stake. To create customised World Cup content, users are often asked to upload selfies, sign up with an email address, connect social media accounts or share other personal information. In doing so, they may reveal more information than necessary without fully understanding how that data will be stored, used, or potentially exposed.
“AI-driven fan content may seem harmless, but one of the key privacy risks is that users are often encouraged to share far more personal information than necessary. A simple request to generate a themed avatar can involve the collection of photos, contact details, account data and behavioural insights – information that may later be insufficiently protected.
“Because major global events often create an ideal environment for opportunistic actors, fans should take a closer look at how these tools manage personal data before engaging with them,” says Anna Larkina, web content analysis and privacy expert at Kaspersky.
When fan content becomes a scam. AI-generated World Cup content in some cases can also be used to support fraud. Cybercriminals may use convincing mock-ups, fake giveaways, or official-looking fan pages to attract attention and build trust. Once users engage, they may be redirected to phishing sites, fake stores, fraudulent offers, or betting-related scams. Generative AI makes these campaigns easier to produce, more persuasive and far easier to scale.
The myth of AI predictions. Another area that deserves caution is AI-powered match prediction. However advanced or data-driven these tools may appear, AI cannot reliably predict inherently uncertain sporting outcomes. When used to promote betting, paid subscriptions or “insider communities”, such services can create a false sense of confidence and encourage risky decisions.
Multi-asset global broker JustMarkets has launched its Web Terminal, an advanced browser-based trading terminal now available to all clients in any country supported by the broker.
JustMarkets
The company said the new platform forms part of its ongoing effort to expand and strengthen its trading ecosystem. Before the official launch, the Web Terminal went through a preparation phase during which the team fine-tuned its technical performance and gathered user feedback.
“At JustMarkets, we never stop evolving,” a JustMarkets representative said. “With the Web Terminal, we wanted to remove every barrier between traders and the markets. Now every client can trade directly from their browser, with all the professional tools they need at their fingertips.”
The Web Terminal is fully available for MT5 accounts, allowing traders to access a professional trading environment without downloading or installing any software. The broker said the platform runs entirely in the browser, enabling clients to start trading instantly from any device.
To access the terminal, users are required to choose a trading account, press the “Trade” button, and then select “JustMarkets Terminal” from the window that appears.
The broker said the platform includes advanced charts with technical indicators and graphical tools, flexible volume settings that allow trade volume to be set in lots or in units of the asset, detailed asset descriptions, a market sentiment tool that provides real-time trading sentiment, timely updates on trading schedules and margin changes, and tools for managing multiple trading positions and pending orders.
According to the company, the launch follows the introduction of the JustMarkets mobile app for trading on the go and represents another step in its broader innovation strategy.
JustMarkets said it remains committed to growth and has additional features, tools, and improvements already in development.
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