E-Business
TAM Summit Highlights Technologies Potency in Time Management
Africans have been urged to embrace technological interventions as practical measures to overcoming poor time management.
Panelists at the inaugural TAM Summit unanimously agreed that technology can aid individuals and organisations in setting clear timelines for their set goals and objectives.
TAM Summit under the theme, “From ‘African Time’ to ‘On Time’: A paradigm Shift”, was conveyed by SB Telecoms in Lagos on Thursday, May 19, 2016 seeking for attitudinal change while drawing attention to the economic loss in Africa due to the “African Time” mental appendage.
Speaking at the Summit, Mr. Afolabi Abiodun, CEO of SB Telecoms & Devices and Conveners, disclosed that a survey conducted with the aid of TAM solution, found that almost 12% of annual labour cost is lost to lateness, tardiness, time theft and absenteeism.
He said, that in an economic climate, such is a huge lost as there was no successful venture devoid of time as a major contributory factor.
Abiodun said, “In 2005, the American government set a goal to reduce their dependency on foreign crude oil from 60% of their total need to 30% by 2015 and 0% by 2020. One of their key follow-through mechanisms is the perfecting of the fracking technology to access their Shale Oil. Today, America’s daily production has increased from 5.4 million barrels in 2005 per day to 9.3 million barrels per day as at the end of 2015.
“For the past three decades, various Nigerian governments have touted Vision 2020 to take us to the Promised Land of development. Four years to expected delivery date, we are yet to scratch the surface of this laudable target. Why? Although it is easy to blame lack of political will and socio-economic factors, but the real culprit, in my honest opinion, is a lack of interest in doing things in a timely manner and a readiness to give excuses, even though Nigeria is well known for drawing plans and issuing communiqués”.
He lamented that lack of time management has eaten deep into the fabric of the African society, and has turned the people to victims- of its manifestations in corruption, infrastructural decay, apathy, poverty, and so on.
“But it would be difficult to have any meaningful development if we hesitate to demand accountability, not only of resources and budgets but also of TIME- in the private sector and at all levels of government. Because, as we all know, no society can hope to make progress or catch up if there’s a culture of disregard for time.
To solve the challenge, he said that SB Telecoms developed a Time Attendance Management Systems (TAMS) service which from 2013 to the present has been deployed by over 1,000 organizations (including multinationals).
According to Abiodun, “Currently, TAMS has become much more than a time management solution. Based on customer research and feedback, we have developed other modules such as: payroll, appraisal, vacation and leave management.
In the course of promoting time management and the value proposition of TAMS, a few business owners and HR practitioners have protested that punctuality has nothing to do with performance. My response has always been that if we took the time to do some number crunching, we would appreciate the cost of time to us.
“To achieve more productivity, TAMS is getting better and better. TAMS is integrated with 20 Commercial Banks and 56 Microfinance Banks and all Pension Fund Administrators. I am happy to inform you that TAMS is one of 150 solutions worldwide invited to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington DC, to be hosted by President Barak Obama next month”.
Nodding in agreement, Mr. Adeola Adejokun, principal partner of Kishi-Lagos, said that he strongly believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people across the globe.
He said that applications like Google Calendar, Smart Planner, smart wristwatches, are proven solutions Nigerians and African at large can leverage to undo the sickening ‘African Time’ syndrome.
Adejokun said, “I have realized that ‘African Time’ malaise as lack of consequence management enforcement which requires institutions that will monitor people in the work environment, whether in corporate or public sector.
“We can use technologies available today to tackle this head-on, because ‘time theft’ leads to erosion of values. Without rightly defined and times processes, it is usually difficult to have thr right culture in any place.
On her part, Mrs. Bukky George, who chaired the Summit, said that time like health is wealth and should be efficiently managed, hence poor time management is at the root of poor planning bedeviling the African society.
George who is also the founder/CEO of HealthPlus Limited, said, although ‘poor time management’ is a global phenomenon, Africans, especially youths must have attitudinal change to adapt to 21Century work environment, particularly, every sector of the economy revolves around such principles as time, predictability and efficiency.
She added that in spite the enormous infrastructural deficits in the country, proper time management can be maintained.
Mr. Oyeniyi Oguntoyinbo, MD/CEO of Philliy & Mools, said that every thriving multinational (companies) today started on the clear-cut principles of strategic and conscious timing of programmes.
According to him, a service company, for instance, must be built around timely response to customer’s inquiries or dissatisfaction.
“It is amazing when you list the consequences of poor time management. We often use the phrase, ‘Time is money’, but a lot of employees do not appreciate the fact that late responses to customer’s questions can lead to the demise of the entity. It is an attitude we must address as a people, business and country or Continent. Time is same everywhere, and we can’t change it, rather invest it wisely,” Oguntoyinbo added.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria
In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.
The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”
“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.
Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.
Major highlights of the MoU include:
- Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
- Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
- Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
- Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.
This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.
The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.
With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.
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.
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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