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Zaku, at AIT InfoTech Awards Reels Importance of ICT
Dr. Alhassan Bako Zaku, minister of Science and Technology has acknowledged the importance of communication and urged the professionals in the sector to form themselves into a vanguard of making sure the right thing is done.
According to him, “through communication, even your farmers can benefit; through communication, you could tell the people what the weather is going to be like, you could tell your farmers when they should plant, when they shouldn’t plant, you could tell your farmers whether there will be flood or not.”
The minister spoke at the African Information Society Merit Award (AISMA) and cyber Nigeria forum 2009 ceremony put together by AIT InfoTech Network recently.
“I would therefore, like to congratulate AIT Infotech, Bayero Agabi and Daar Communications for this very, very resourceful award ceremony and pioneering ICT broadcast on television and keeping for this long. More than that, I am sure you will make sure that Nigeria gets the fruit of communication more than they are now getting. A lot of people don’t know how important communication is. I expect you to now continue to enlighten them and try to make sure that communication is used for good,” for me am very happy to be here, this is the first time am attending an award of this nature with such quality presence and all the awardees present” the minister concluded.
One of the most famous faces in print media, Chief Dele Momodu, publisher of soar-away Ovation magazine, in his remarks said: “I am here to felicitate with you on this special occasion and if you talk about technology, I would say I have been a great beneficiary of it. Just like the comedians would say that in those days when you put on your television, you will hear a few coughs, uh, uh, uh, publishing was like that in the past, but these days from my mobile handset I can read all the newspapers in the world. In fact, I wonder how newspapers still sell with this technology.
“Africa is one place where we are able to catch up easily with any modern invention and that is why we must salute the courage, the enterprise, the doggedness of members of this society… All I just want to say is that I am gladdened that we can have an event of this nature on a Sunday evening and we have so many people sitting down, important personalities sitting down here to identify with the great work that Bayero Agabi AIT InfoTech through Daar Communication has been doing in the past ten years. I think it is a great thing and God will continue to bless all of you.”
The representative of High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Mr. John Iwarue, and the executive director of marketing Daar communication said in his remark that “it is just like yesterday that InfoTech (network) started. It is unbelievable that it is 10 years already. I want to commend the indomitable spirit of Bayero Agabi and his never-say-die attitude… I know that whatever he has achieved today, it was not on a platter of gold, he really worked hard for it.”
Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman of National Communication Commission (NCC) in his good will message, said: “I congratulate AIT InfoTech network for 10 years of IT reporting on television. This is no doubt, a salute to hard work, to courage, professionalism and of course we need to recognise the dogged spirit of Bayero Agabi and his team at AIT InfoTech. So, I say again, congratulation!
“I am proud of Nigeria as a country. I am also proud of the contribution IT industry has made to the development of the economy. It’s been a very long journey over the past ten years and I would like to say that AIT InfoTech has every right to claim to be a part.”
One of the two speakers, Mr Anayo Agu, in his presentation, decried the attitude of people saying nothing works in Nigeria, saying, “I feel depreciated when somebody says nothing works here… we are Nigerians and if we are the Nigerians, then, if things are not working here, it means we are not working”
The second speaker, Dr. Tunde Adegbola, executive director of African Languages Technology Initiative, noted in his paper that digital divide will not end with everybody having computer and having access to the internet, for as long as foreign language is used as channel of communication, adding that no nation had been known to develop technologically using another country’s language.
“I think that if today, computer becomes available to everybody, the internet becomes available to everybody, there will still be a digital divide, because there will still be a restriction on the use of these facilities by the fact that they will have to be used in English. And that is why there is a need in bridging the digital divide to ensure that these ICT facilities can be used in our languages….
“There is no record of any nation in the world that became great by using another nation’s language.”
Among other dignitaries that graced the ceremony included Mrs Tosin Dokpesi, Managing Director Africa independent television AIT, who said the Daar family was proud of Bayero Agabi and that she was proud of his courage and resilience over the years. The ace comedian, Ali Baba. Tunde kelani a veteran film maker, dele momodu ovation publisher and the general manager NTA channel 10 Lagos. The event was anchored by Kofi a popular comedian and biyi fashoyin a seasoned broadcaster.
Sir Stanley Amuchie, chief operations and information officer, Fidelity Bank Plc has been named “Outstanding Banker of the Year” for his incisive record of digital transformation in the financial sector.
Sir Stanley Amuchie,
He was crowned at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Lectures and Awards, held at the weekend in Lagos.
Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Lectures and Awards, is an annual, highly respected event in Nigeria’s technology sector organized by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.
The awards recognize and celebrate organizations, public authorities, and individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to digital transformation and ICT growth across the continent.
Amuchie bagged “Outstanding Banker of the Year” according to the organizers for being one of Nigeria’s most accomplished and sought-after financial executive and technocrat.
He graduated as a First-Class student in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Benin and holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Governance from Leeds Beckett University in the UK.
With over two decades of experience, he is currently the executive director/chief operations & Information Fidelity Bank Plc.
Amuchie started his career at Arthur Andersen, Lagos, Nigeria (now KPMG Professional Services) in September 1995 where he rose to the level of a Senior manager before exiting the organization in February 2000 to work in the banking industry.
He had earlier been the General Manager/Group Zonal Head, Zenith Bank Plc. Prior to this position, he was in Financial Control & Strategic Planning Department of the Bank from February 2000 to May 2018 where he rose to the rank of Group Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.
In addition to his then responsibilities, he was a Director of Zenith Nominees Limited, a global Custody Subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc.
He was at various times in-charge of the co-ordination of the Group’s Foreign Operations and Real Estate Operations.
Prior to the Bank’s election to operate as a Commercial bank with foreign authorization, he held the following positions in the subsidiaries of the Bank; Chairman – Zenith Securities Limited; Director – Zenith Trustees Ltd, Director – Zenith Bureau De Change Ltd.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), and an
Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Banker’s of Nigeria (HCIB).
He has attended various local and foreign Leadership courses in institutions like
Insead Business School in France and Harvard Business School in USA. Currently, he is an Executive Director Chief of Operations and Information Fidelity Bank PLC.
He is the Founder/President of The Goodlight Foundation.
Pan-African talent accelerator ALX is expanding its footprint and shifting to a fully self-paced learning model to train and integrate young Africans into the workforce, as the global economy reorganises around artificial intelligence (AI).
Partnering with the MasterCard Foundation, the technology training provider and career accelerator designed to equip African talent, says it enables learners to access tech training for $5 a month.
It emphasises a shift in demographics saying that by 2035, more young Africans will enter the workforce annually.
ALX notes that its model has graduated 347,100 learners, with 63% finding employment within six months. Women represent over half of all graduates. To increase flexibility, the organisation emphasises that learning is now entirely self-paced.
“Learners progress through modular blocks, earning credentials as they go, ensuring that the training fits around their existing responsibilities,” says Shana-Michelle Rabonda, Chief Operating Officer of ALX.
Rabonda adds that global employers are taking notice: “We are building a direct pipeline to the global digital economy. When companies look for elite tech talent, they are looking at Africa.”
Due to this demand, firms such as Absa, Stanbic Bank, MTN, and KPMG now employ between 50 and 180 ALX graduates each. Meanwhile, community entrepreneurs have created over 60,100 jobs through AI startups like Signvrse and Edulga.
With Africa’s AI market projected to grow to $16.5 billion by 2030, ALX operates alongside competitors like Moringa School and GoMyCode to secure mindshare.
“With the right skills and networks, young Africans can seize these opportunities,” Rabonda emphasises. “Africa’s youth should not just be consumers of AI; they should be creators shaping innovations that will define the global economy.”
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the advertisement of a winding-up petition filed against telecommunications service provider, Swift Network Plc, over its alleged inability to settle a debt exceeding N115 million.
The order followed an application filed by Optics and Wireless Limited through its counsel, Bimbo Adebayo-Ogunlaja, urging the court to permit the publication of the winding-up petition instituted against the company.
In the petition, Optics and Wireless Limited alleged that Swift Network Plc is indebted to it in the sum of N115,482,302.88, being the outstanding payment for network devices supplied to the telecommunications firm since April 2024.
The petitioner is also seeking the payment of N70,530,062 as accrued interest arising from a loan facility allegedly obtained to finance the transaction between both parties, as well as general damages for breach of contract.
According to court documents, the dispute arose from a series of transactions carried out between April 2024 and February 2025, during which Swift Network Plc, through its procurement officer, allegedly requested the petitioner to manufacture and supply various network devices based on purchase orders issued by the company.
The petitioner stated that payment for the supplied items was expected either immediately after delivery or within 30 days of supply, but alleged that Swift Network repeatedly failed to honour the agreement despite receiving the products.
Optics and Wireless Limited further claimed that it became apparent after the final order for servers in April 2025 that the respondent was either unwilling or unable to settle the accumulated debt.
The petitioner also informed the court that its solicitors, Messrs Zionla Legal Practitioners & Solicitors, subsequently issued a statutory notice of demand dated December 11, 2025, demanding payment of the outstanding sum and accrued interest.
According to the petitioner, all efforts to recover the debt proved unsuccessful, adding that the situation has exposed the company to serious financial challenges and possible legal action from the bank that allegedly granted it the loan facility used to execute the supply contracts.
Optics and Wireless Limited argued that Swift Network Plc is insolvent and unable to meet its financial obligations, urging the court to wind up the company in line with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Winding-Up Rules.
Among the reliefs sought, the petitioner asked the court to order that Swift Network Plc be wound up by the court and that any voluntary winding-up process involving the company should continue under the supervision of the court.
Justice Lewis Allagoa subsequently adjourned the matter till July 10 for further hearing.
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