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.
Federal government has confirmed the closure of 13,597,057 social media accounts over harmful content and breaches of the country’s digital code of practice.
The figure was contained in the Code of Practice 2024 Compliance Report, submitted by major technology firms including Google, Microsoft, and TikTok.
The report outlined efforts made by online platforms to curb offensive content and strengthen user protection.
The compliance framework, introduced in 2022 and jointly enforced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), required platforms to address user complaints and remove content that violates community guidelines or national regulations.
According to the latest report, social media platforms collectively deleted 58,909,112 posts flagged as offensive within the year.
Authorities also recorded 754,629 user complaints, while 420,439 pieces of content were reinstated following successful appeals.
In a statement issued by Hadiza Umar, spokesperson, NITDA, commended global platforms for what she described as “continued compliance” with Nigeria’s Code of Practice. She noted that the submission of the annual reports demonstrates a shared commitment to creating a safer digital environment.
“The compliance reports provide valuable insights into the platforms’ efforts to address user safety concerns in line with the Code of Practice and their community guidelines,” Umar said.
“We remain committed to working with industry players, civil society, and regulatory partners to strengthen user safety measures, enhance digital literacy, and promote trust and transparency in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.”
The government said the monitoring exercise underscores its drive to ensure that Nigeria’s growing digital space remains secure, responsible, and free from harmful content.
Federal government has announced plans to streamline identity management in Nigeria through the rollout of the Nigeria Data Exchange Platform (NGDX), a centralised system designed to eliminate the burden of repeated data submissions by citizens across multiple agencies.
For years, Nigerians have faced the frustration of presenting the same personal details and biometrics for services such as National Identification Number (NIN) registration, driver’s licences, Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), SIM card registration, and international passports.
The NGDX aims to put an end to this duplication by enabling secure, seamless sharing of verified data among government institutions.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, Kashifu Inuwa, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the platform will serve as a unified backbone for identity and data verification.
“With the NGDX, citizens will no longer need to repeatedly submit the same personal data each time they interact with a government agency. Authorised institutions will be able to seamlessly verify and share records on the back end,” he explained.
The reform is expected to cut costs, save time for citizens, and address inefficiencies across the public sector.
It will also benefit businesses—particularly fintechs and service providers—by enabling faster Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and giving them access to government-backed verification systems.
Inua further noted that the NGDX’s value goes beyond convenience. By allowing the use of anonymised public data, it will open new opportunities for innovation in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, fintech, and education technology.
“The NGDX will open opportunities for startups and enterprises to build solutions leveraging anonymised public data for improved healthcare delivery, agricultural productivity, fintech development, and education technology,” he said.
He described the initiative as “essential digital infrastructure,” placing it on the same scale of importance as Nigeria’s nationwide fibre optic rollout, and emphasised its centrality to the country’s digital economy aspirations.
To ensure successful deployment, NITDA is working in collaboration with the ministry of communications, innovation and digital economy and other key stakeholders.
Backing the initiative, Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, described the NGDX as a critical system for unlocking innovation, deepening collaboration, and extending the reach of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“NGDX will enable secure, seamless data sharing across government and business, unlock innovation, collaboration, and inclusive economic growth, and deliver smarter, faster services to citizens under a framework of privacy, security, and accountability,” he stated, adding that the NGDX is scheduled to go live by the end of 2025.
With a goal to curb malware and financial scams, Google has announced a new policy requiring developer verification for all Android app installations on certified devices – those with preloaded Google Mobile Services (like Samsung, Pixel, and others) — starting in 2026, extending beyond the Google Play Store to include sideloading and third-party app stores in an effort to curb malware and financial scams.
Currently users can install apps on devices running Android in different ways – they can download them from Google Play or other available stores, but also sideload them from APK (Android Package Kit used to distribute and install apps on Android OS) files, bypassing store moderation.
The new “ID check” is going to verify developers’ identities. The rollout begins with verification access in October 2025 for select developers, opens to all in March 2026, and enforcement starts in September 2026 in “high-risk” countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand before going global in 2027.
Google’s new developer verification policy for Android apps is a timely response to an evolving mobile threat landscape.
According to Kaspersky’s report, attacks on Android smartphones in Q1 2025 increased, with the number of detected malware samples reaching 180,000 (up 27% from Q4 2024). Threats were blocked on devices of over 12 million smartphone users (up 36% from Q4 2024). The upward trend in attacked users has continued since Q3 2024. Common threats include phishing apps and stealers disguised as legitimate software.
“A major security issue in this landscape is the ability for users to install unverified apps from outside stores. These direct downloads bypass additional safeguards such as Google Play checks before app publication.
While installing unverified APK files offers flexibility for power users, it essentially turns the device into a potential entry point for attacks, underscoring the need for stricter controls”, comments Tatyana Shishkova, Lead Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky. “Overall, requiring verification for all app developers who want their apps to run on Google-certified devices is a positive step forward in bolstering Android’s security”, she added.
The new verification policy will apply only to Android devices with preloaded Google Mobile Services and Play Protect; smartphones running de-Googled ROMs, such as those on LineageOS or Android versions without Google Services (like Huawei devices), remain unaffected and can continue to sideload unverified APK files.
Despite Google Play’s security measures, malicious apps still infiltrate the store, with thousands of downloads identified in 2025 alone, often masquerading as legitimate software to steal data or deliver malware.
These threats, including trojans and phishing apps, exploit gaps in app review processes and user trust, underscoring that even official stores aren’t immune to the Android malware surge. Kaspersky found malware on Apple’s AppStore as well. So it’s important for users to be aware of risks when installing apps from any source, and use a trusted mobile protection solution, such as Kaspersky for Android.
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