General News
That Gartner Doom-card for the PC
For many, especially in emerging markets like sub-Saharan Africa the talk of the personal computer’s use coming to an end may sound like telling a virtually impaired person to tell the colours of the rainbow. In an analysis on technology innovations and trends Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner wrote in a 10-pager titled: ‘The New PC Era: Personal Cloud’ that the reign of the personal computer as we know it today maybe over in two years. Incredible – sounds so. “The era of the personal computer is giving way to the new personal cloud age. This will enable new levels of flexibility and functionality for users, but will challenge enterprises to rethink how they deliver services to users,” said Kleynhans. He theorises that by 2014 the present PC role of serving as the ‘master chef’ for corporate business inter-operation could come to end, ushering in another era of entirely new PC – personal cloud. Kleynhans believes this emerging technology trends would deliver more user flexibility with personal devices, delivering more satisfaction. “Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets, and other consumer devices. “Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the Web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life,” said Kleynhans. While the term ‘cloud computing’ may still be a buzz word for most Nigerians, global trend in the last two-three years show a major shift in innovations which includes data storage and virtualization; mobile devices like smartphones and apps have all become part of the cloud integration. Kleynhans notes that: “Many call this era the post-PC era, but it isn’t really about being ‘after’ the PC, but rather about a new style of personal computing that frees individuals to use computing in fundamentally new ways to improve multiple aspects of their work and personal lives.” This fundamental shift in focus however could sound more meaningful to an average young-urban Nigeria between the age ranges of 16 – 25. Their use of the computer aligns with Kleynhans position; they are more adapted to smartphones, iPad and Blackberry for both mobile connectivity and corporate executions. Several university students given a choice would rather buy an iPad or Blackberry than a laptop. For these classes of individuals, the use of desktop computer is too ‘unfashionable’ to even think about. Although it is very debatable that Kleynhans analysis of the cloud over shadowing the present model of PC sounds alarming, yet recent workplace trends indicate information generation and sharing is moving away from the traditional portfolio management system. From the concept of a reporters’ beat news gathering and filing to the newsroom for onward dissemination to the news-consumer; trends have changed threatening to confine the ‘old’ newsroom into the graveyard. In the new style of computer usage, the individual is nolonger wheedle into straight-jacked corporate suit. His corporate operation is defined more by technology than by operational norm. Sumit Agnihotry, vice president of product marketing, Americas region for Taiwan’s leading PC marker Acer notes that innovation would rule the market. He believes that taking the consumers’ perspective into detail designing of the PC would connect the user to the product. “It’s critical that consumers are connected to the design. Design has become one of the most important factors in the PC industry,” said Agnihotry. This perhaps defines the new Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra laptops feature a magnesium-alloy, unibody chassis that looks sweet on top, inside and even underneath. It measures 20 millimetres thick with a consistent eight hours of battery life. “It’s for the consumers who are looking for a laptop that will meet their needs today but also anticipate the things they’ll be doing nine months to a year out,” Agnihotry says Kleynhans’s personal cloud theory could also be linked to a so-called consumerization of IT which is said to be “causing wrinkled brows and sleepless nights for the tech department, but its potential to revolutionize information-worker productivity has generated comparisons to Henry Ford’s impact on manufacturing,” according to Microsoft’s ‘PC Trends for 2012’ review. Key factors in the consumerisation of IT market to note is that: users are getting more technologically savvy and have very different expectations of technology. The rise and rise of both the internet and social media is redefining the consumer power. Increasing high budget spend on R & D by OEMs means manufacturers are able to introduce new affordable mobile devices that are multitasking and user friendly. One critical factor to this innovation is the influence of China and other Far East Asian tigers like Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan who continue to challenge traditional Euro-America market place with new technology that breaks status symbol as a result of price tag. The personal cloud factor also defines the scalability and infinite availability of resources available to consumers over the internet. The impact of this IT infrastructure is beyond imagining when measured against the backdrop of where we were a decade back. The convergence of digital mobility has redirected the consumers’ taste bud and this in turn drives IT innovation. The availability of more mobile devices and practical convergence with the cloud gives the user a most fulfilled experience. For a market like ours that hasn’t got a 24/7 power supply experience, the emergence of mobile apps deepens the user experience giving the user that feeling of belonging to the global super highway.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
Dangote Refinery’s Private Placement Reportedly Hits $2.5Bn
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