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Uwadia Backs Coderina, Harps on Robotics Programming Skills Test Awareness
Professor Charles Uwadia, head of Computer Science, University of Lagos (UniLag), has applauded Coderina, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) vision in promoting Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in Nigeria.
Uwadia who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeekduring a FIRST® LEGO® League, an exciting and fun global robotics program that ignites an enthusiasm for discovery, science, and technology in kids ages 9 to 16, said that the programme deserves support from both the Government and the Private sector, as Coderina has shown that sustainability of Science and Technology, Engineering and Education in Nigeria must not be overlooked.
Holding for the first time in Nigeria, but for the penchant interests of SAP, world leading Enterprise Application Software provider and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the number one ICT agency of the federal government led by the visionary Engr. Peter Jack; as the sponsors.
Other key allies are the University of Abuja as regional host and Dept of Computer Science Unilag,
The FIRST® LEGO® League session held during the weekend at the University of Lagos (Unilag), attracted over 300 students from different schools in the State while 140 of them competed.
With more sponsors and State Governments involvement, the Organisers said they want to take FLL as an annual event to the 36 states of the Federation.
To this end, Uwadia said, “In the area of ICT funding is either here nor there because there is nothing that is really fully funded here in the country. You can only make do with what is available. My own feeling is that even within what is available financially we can still energize our youth to get them to show interest in science and technology, mathematics and eventually take it up as a career.
“I want to thank the organisers, First Lego League for this initiative and also the management of UNILAG for agreeing to collaborate with this group for it to take place here. The programme is very important when we are talking about sustainability of Science and Technology, Engineering and Education in Nigeria.
“And you can only be able to sustain such type of programme if you catch them young, that is you address the very foundation of education.
“The choice of the University environment is to give the youth a feeling of an educational environment different from where they are coming from. Secondly, to create the environment of fun, while learning very serious things like Science, Technology and Mathematics.
“The first thing is that government cannot do it alone. Government is doing its own bit and there is need to actually get the private sector to be involved. They should approach them and lay the cards on the table for them to know what they stand to benefit and I am sure in the coming year they will get more private sector involvement into the programme.
“Well, if it is succeeding in countries like Singapore which is a very small country there is no reason why it cannot succeed here. In 2001 when I was in Australia I met a group of students who were Singapore and they were just diploma students and I was amazed at the kind of things they were doing.
“They were already using Java to write code to be able to move objects in 2001. Here we are in 2015 in Nigeria, it’s not new as this is something we ought to have been doing in Nigeria much early than this time. What is important is that we sustain it.
He added that awareness is very important and that was the reflections of the last week’s programme.
Uwadia said, “Senstization is important and we need to take it much further by allowing it to transit down to the level that even kids at home will be able to play with some robotics, creating awareness at that level to crèche, primary and secondary”.
Earlier, Mr. Olajide Ajayi, director, Coderina/FLL Nigeria, reiterated that technologies offer opportunities to stimulate growth, increase innovation and enable individuals and institutions to interact more productively within the global economy.
However, realizing the possibilities require the need to put technology at the core and also as a part of a mix of productive changes and supporting capabilities.
The Director said that matching resources by resourcefulness and combining such efforts with initiatives on the part of educators, government and the third sector in the quest to build capacity for our future creative leaders, has become even more essential.
“The tournaments”, the director said, “are a culmination of activities carried out on the World Class challenge (the theme for the 2014/2015 season). In the 2014 FLL World Class Challenge, 265,000 children from 80 countries will re-design how we gather knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Teams will teach adults about the ways that kids need and want to learn”.
FIRST® LEGO® League, he further explained, is an Educational partnership between FIRST® and the LEGO® Group.
“It is a program for a team (comprising of 2-10) of children from ages 9 to 16 with a different challenge/theme issued annually. It has three (3) components comprising of Project, Robot Game and Core Values.
“In the project, teams research a real-life issue related to the theme of the year, create or proffer a new and innovative solution, then present this information (using different presentation models and props) during a timed presentation to the judges. This is followed up by a timed question and answer period.
“The robot game deals with robot design, build and programming to complete a set of missions on a thematic table-top playing surface.
“Core Values – the FLL Core Values are the cornerstones of the FLL program. They are among the fundamental elements that distinguish FLL from other programs of its kind. By embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.
Such values inculcated on the students were to invoke the thoughts as “We are a team. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. We know our coaches and mentors do not have all the answers; we learn together. We honour the spirit of friendly competition. What we discover is more important than what we win. We share our experiences with others. We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do and We have FUN!
The next session holds in Abuja on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 revealed that Artificial intelligence accounts for 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa and making attacks faster, more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect.
The report warns that the continent’s rapid digital transformation, marked by more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers in 2025, is being matched by an equally rapid evolution in cybercrime, while fragmented legislation and limited AI readiness among law enforcement agencies continue to weaken responses.
The 40-page assessment, based on survey data from 36 African member countries, said cybercrime has shifted from isolated criminal activity to an industrialised, borderless ecosystem powered by AI.
According to the report, East Africa has become a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, while business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams are widespread across Central and West Africa.
Southern Africa, it noted, has become an attractive target for international cybercriminals due to its high level of internet connectivity.
The report also highlighted the growing financial impact of cybercrime across the continent, revealing that losses have more than doubled since 2024, rising from 192 million dollars to 484 million dollars.
It attributed the increase largely to AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering attacks.
INTERPOL said online scams remained the most commonly reported form of cybercrime in 2025, with criminals exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI-generated content to deceive victims.
It added that 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the existence of scam centres, with the highest concentration recorded in Southern and West Africa.
The report further identified digital sextortion and online harassment as persistent threats, driven increasingly by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media.
According to data from TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners, about 600,000 sextortion incidents were detected during the reporting period.
Business email compromise schemes have also become more sophisticated, with AI being used to generate highly convincing email communications.
The report said Africa-based threat actors are increasingly targeting victims in Europe and North America using cyber infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
INTERPOL warned that the absence of real-time information sharing between banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies has created significant vulnerabilities in tackling financial cybercrime.
It said cybercriminals are no longer relying solely on stolen credentials but are now creating AI-generated synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated details.
These synthetic identities, the report noted, have been used to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, described cybercrime as one of the most significant criminal threats facing Africa.
“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.
“However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled,” he said.
Despite the growing threat, the report highlighted progress in strengthening cybersecurity across the continent.
It disclosed that 17 African countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation in 2025, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children.
The report also noted that regional capacity-building initiatives are helping to improve long-term cyber resilience.
INTERPOL said four major cybercrime operations conducted in 2025, Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, resulted in more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the recovery of over 100 million dollars.
To address the growing threat, the report recommended the adoption of standardised digital forensic capabilities, stronger cross-border collaboration, greater investment in AI literacy for law enforcement personnel and formal public-private partnerships to improve cybercrime prevention, detection and response.
The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 forms part of INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with data contributions from Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
Nigerian students will soon design, assemble, test and fly drones as part of their university education, following a partnership between Miva Open University and Abuja-based defence technology company Terra Industries.
The collaboration comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to develop indigenous capabilities in advanced manufacturing and defence technology, with both organisations seeking to strengthen Africa’s pipeline of deep-tech talent.
The partnership will see students gain hands-on experience in drone engineering and related technologies through dedicated labs and industry collaboration.
The partners will establish robotics, drone and virtual reality laboratories across Miva’s study centres, beginning with a pilot facility in Abuja.
Students will also gain access to industry-led workshops, research opportunities, internships and mentorship in artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity and autonomous systems.
According to the partners, Terra’s engineering teams will work alongside Miva faculty to integrate hands-on hardware training into academic programmes, exposing students to real-world engineering challenges and building industry experience before graduation.
Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries, said Africa’s technological future depends on developing engineers capable of building solutions for local challenges.
“The engineers who will build Africa’s future must learn by building. This partnership creates opportunities for students to work with the technologies shaping modern security, infrastructure and autonomous systems,” said Nwachuku.
Miva Open University said the initiative forms part of its commitment to experiential learning, adding that students will have the opportunity to “design, test and fly drones as part of their academic experience”.
The partnership builds on Terra’s expanding role in Nigeria’s defence technology sector. Earlier this year, the company signed a joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to localise the production of drones, robotics systems and cybersecurity infrastructure, supporting efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.
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