Broadcasting
Women Are Catalysts for Citizen Development and Corporate Prosperity in Nigeria
By Joanna Baidu, Youth Lead, PMI
The embracing of citizen developers by the IT industry could herald significant changes to the development of Nigeria’s digital future. But will this future involve more women? Joanna Baidu, Sub Saharan Africa Youth Lead at PMI, says citizen development could well be the opportunity to attract more women to use their experience and build applications through cloud-based, low-code, no code platforms.
One of the reasons the International Girls in ICT Day was conceived was to draw attention to the critical need for more inclusivity in the tech sector. The gender disparity in the ICT workforce is glaring all over the world. Hence, this year the focus is on creating safe and reliable access to the internet and digital tools for women.
Inclusion in the tech sector has been a long-standing conversation, generating varied opinions and perspectives. It will take employers’ eagerness to develop both grassroots and in-house technical skills of women and men to fill the existing gaps in the sector.
Male dominance in the Nigerian tech sector is evident from the under representation of women in the top ranks. Of the 93 tech firms surveyed by the ONE Campaign and the Center for Global Development, only six had a woman in a top management position. Worse still, more than one-third of the surveyed tech firms employed no women.
Furthermore, a youth survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, reports that young men are almost twice as likely to have a career in computer science and technology-related fields as women in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in Nigeria, women make up on average just 22% of the total number of Engineering and Technology university graduates each year. According to the same source, women make up roughly a fifth of people working in the information and communication technology sector.
Project Management Institute (PMI) believes that structured citizen development programmes that open the IT development field to everyone, including women, will help companies drive inclusivity. The introduction of citizen development can help bridge the talent gap and accelerate digital transformation in Nigeria because everyone can contribute to tech solutions without necessarily learning to code.
On the back of connected devices, the citizen development movement has spurred innovation in software development. The low code, no code tech that anyone can use has companies turning to it for fast app development and deployment. Moreover, the arrival of citizen developers has alleviated the pressure on IT departments, leaving people with more formal IT qualifications to focus on mission-critical and core programming.
Encouraging employee participation in technology development must not come at the cost of security lapses, data breaches, and governance risks. Citizen development efforts must comply with security standards and be guided by a governance strategy that sets requirements for secure applications to be created outside the IT function.
“On the positive side, more technically aware and enabled people in the workplace will undoubtedly contribute to reinforced awareness and safer operational procedures. This means that organisations can capitalise on employee knowledge about company needs to produce enhanced outputs,” says Baidu.
The potential for well-governed, corporate-driven citizen development is unlimited. Helping women develop new skills and reducing traditional gender gaps through structured citizen development programmes can advance a company’s market performance and profitability.
“Technology is an increasingly important part of our daily lives. Movements like citizen development must be supported and fostered across organisations and educational institutions, so women and girls get an early start. The prospect of artificial intelligence having the same gender biases as humans can turn into a reality if we don’t encourage more inclusivity in ICT,” concludes Baidu.
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced the postponement of its maiden annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes to January 25, 2026.
NIPR
The event, earlier scheduled for December 7, 2025, was deferred to accommodate stakeholders whose observance of Christmas festivities had commenced earlier than expected.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Israel Opayemi, urged stakeholders to note the new date and prepare to participate in the ceremony.
He said the awards would motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars, while enhancing Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the public relations ecosystem and strengthening brand equity for all stakeholders.
Opayemi reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class award administration and ceremony, describing the PRICE Awards as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors.
The development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when the NIPR President and Chairman, Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, inaugurated a 12-man committee to organise the maiden edition. The inauguration followed the Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team tasked with establishing the awards.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion, a move analysts say will reshape the global entertainment industry.
Netflix
The deal, which includes Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Games, was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix shares for each WBD share.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the acquisition as “a defining moment” for the streaming giant, noting that the company intends to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations while expanding its production capacity.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies with Netflix’s culture-defining titles, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.
The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, following the planned spin-off of WBD’s TV networks division, Discovery Global, in 2026. Netflix projects annual cost savings of $2–3 billion by the third year after completion and expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by year two.
Industry groups, including the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United, have raised concerns about the impact on movie theaters, while regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal over antitrust issues. Netflix has pledged to continue supporting theatrical releases, with Warner Bros.’ cinema commitments running through 2029.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hailed the agreement, saying it “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love.”
Observers note that the acquisition comes 15 years after former Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes dismissed Netflix as “the Albanian army,” underscoring the dramatic shift in the entertainment landscape.
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
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