The Prudent Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma as usual went on an Inspection of roads undergoing reconstruction especially MCC, Chukwuma Nwoha ballon underground drainage, the Imo State Water and Otamiri Regional Water Scheme.
The essence of this unscheduled visits is to make sure that the dividend of democracy he promised Imo people are delivered with class, quality and on time.
Governor Uzodimma inspected the Solar System on the facilities of Imo state water scheme as the MD/CEO ISWSC, Engr Emeka Ugoanyanwu FNSE FNIWE KSJI took him and his entourage round the facilities.
He was impressed with the standard of reconstruction at MCC road and Chukwuma Nwoha underground drainage technology which is fast leading the water channels to Otamiri.
He however frowned at the illegal Structures that are affecting the master plan of the Headworks which makes the Government spend a huge amount for the treatment of Water as the occupants of the illegal buildings pollute the Water with waste products on daily basis.
His Excellency moved by the sufferings of Ndi Imo, thought aloud as he narrated how Imo children carry water cans in search of water and his promise to supply clean water to Imo People swung into action as he directed the OCDA MD, Engr Ikpamezie to remove all illegal structures impeding the flow of clean water to Imo people.
It is almost impossible to attend a Yoruba traditional marriage or any traditional Yoruba ceremony and see the celebrants wearing non-Yoruba clothes. The same thing happens among the Hausas or Fulanis or Kanuris or Tivs or Urbobos or Edos or Efiks or Ijaws.
But it is not unusual to see Igbo celebrants proudly wearing Yoruba clothes or Benin clothes or Hausa clothes at a traditional Igbo event.
In universities in the East, Igbos who live in Lagos or the North proudly chat with one another in Yoruba or Hausa to show other Igbos that they are well travelled and “foreign,” while those who speak Igbo are “local.”
When other Nigerians speak their language in the midst of others or display their culture, they are hailed as culturally conscious, but when Igbos speak their language or display their culture, they are afraid of being criticised for being “clannish.”
The Civi War dealt a terrible blow on the Igbo psyche. For fear of being seen as “Igbotic,” Igbos try too much to prove to other Nigerians that they are not “clannish” or “tribalistic.”
Igbos always want to apologize for their Igboness through their words and deeds. Igbos always try to “belong.” Igbos always want other Nigerians to endorse them as “detribalised.”
Thankfully, a new generation that is culturally conscious is coming up and resisting that.
The attention of the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 has been drawn to some mis-information circulating on the social media to the effect that the Federal Government is contemplating another lockdown this weekend.
The PTF wishes to state categorically that there is no such consideration at any of its meetings nor has any recommendation been made to this effect to the President.
The PTF frowns at such unpatriotic mis-information which is capable of causing unnecessary panic and anxiety among the populace.
It urges Nigerians to disregard the mis-information and join hands with the Federal Government to contain the spread of the virus in the country by adhering to Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI’s) as recommended by the PTF.
The successful operation to free the American citizen kidnapped in in Niger republic and taken to Nigeria has shown the level of diplomatic and bilateral cooperation between the nations in getting rid of terrorism and banditry in Sub Saharan Africa. The US special forces mounted an operation in Nigeria to free an American citizen who had been kidnapped by armed men few days ago. Forces including Navy SEALs rescued 27-year-old Philip Walton, who had been abducted on Tuesday from his home in neighboring southern Niger.
Speaking via diplomatic channels as posted by the United States Embassy, the United States Presidency said “Last night, at my direction, the United States military conducted a successful operation to rescue an American hostage in Nigeria, kidnapped just 96 hours earlier. United States Special Forces executed a daring nighttime operation to rescue their fellow American with exceptional skill, precision, and bravery. No United States Service Members were harmed. The former hostage is currently in good health and has been reunited with his family.”
He added” Securing the freedom of Americans held in captivity abroad has been a top national security priority of my Administration. Since the beginning of my Administration, we have rescued over 55 hostages and detainees in more than 24 countries. Today’s operation should serve as a stark warning to terrorists and criminal thugs who mistakenly believe they can kidnap Americans with impunity.”
Walton was kidnapped by six men armed with AK-47 assault rifles who arrived on motorcycles at his home in southern Niger’s Massalata village early last week. They (kidnappers) demanded money and searched the family’s home before leaving with Walton. His wife, young daughter and brother were left behind.
In this interview, the Chief Executive Officer of Silex Secure Lab Limited, Nsikak Joseph Nelson talks about the information technology (IT) ecosystem in Abuja, how the company has been able to develop home made solutions that have enables organisations to scale up their businesses in Abuja and Northern Region. He also talks about the need for government to create an enabling environment through policies that would encourage indigenous software development firms. Anthony Nwosu captures this in an exclusive interview.
Tell us more about Silex Secure Lab Limited?
SILEX SECURE LAB LIMITED is a leading Nigerian IT company duly registered in 2014 with its office in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. Silex Secure Lab offers services in Cyber Security, Software development, Programming, Data analytics, Cloud computing, Animation, Website development, Fintech, business processes and solutions. We blend Business and Internet Intelligence by developing innovative cyber investigative, encrypted communications and business solutions that are targeted at enabling our clients operate more efficiently.
Over the years, we have offered our services to Nigerian Government Agencies, Private companies and individuals. As a CSR company, we have trained over 200 web developers in Abuja, the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Jos and other cities.
As an IT firm based in Abuja, how has it been appreciating your services in the Northern region?
It has been pretty good and you know this is the Federal Capital City where a lot of people including governmental and corporate organizations think the best IT companies are in Lagos, but you won’t blame them. A lot of Information Technology (IT) firms in this area have their existing customers most of them have been focusing on governmental project, while others are servicing the informal sector however you look at it, we have got a lot of clients whom we have served and appreciate us for rendering exceptional services and giving them value for their money in a simple and effective way. We strongly believe that the IT ecosystem is robust and there is no need heading to Lagos for IT solutions.
Do you have these solutions and software developed in-house?
All our software solutions are developed in-house. From UI/UX to front end, backend and Mobile Apps are done in-house; as a matter of fact, we have a vibrant and energetic team comprising of developers, UI/UX designers, Cyber security experts, Mobile App working on various innovative solutions and products. As a software development & a cyber security company, we totally understand the importance of intellectual property especially with the uniqueness of the products we develop. So as an organisation, we ensure we develop and build capacity around these areas in line with the global best practices. We deliver these solutions to our clients and we are proud that we developed them in-house and they have been working efficiently.
How efficient is your Self Tracer software and do you think that government facilities can deploy them for security purposes?
As guardians and parents are busy today, we understand that they need to keep a tab on their wards and kids so we developed such a solution. Our self-Tracer apps is so special to us, we developed this app basically for parental control but as time evolved, we saw the need of extending the services to corporate organisations and government agencies. Talking of effectiveness, the app is so effective, the sole purpose is to monitor the movement of yourself and family especially in this current security situation, there is need for self-tracing and when there is an emergency with a click on the apps you can notify your family member or anyone you add on hotspot on your current location and if for any reason your phone is turned-off and SIM card is changed, Once the phone is turned back on the apps will notify the admin through the cloud-based system.
Again, this can be fully effective for law enforcement agency for tracking of asset and monitoring communication against insider threat. Other components of the app include Internet Filter, communication filter on social media etc, Website Blocker, GPS Tracking, Remote Control. But again, there is always a privacy to talk about which, in developing this app, we also took into consideration.
Again, this can be fully effective for law enforcement agency for tracking of asset and monitoring communication against insider threat. Other components of the app include Internet Filter, communication filter on social media etc, Website Blocker, GPS Tracking, Remote Control. But again, there is always a privacy to talk about which, in developing this app, we also took into consideration.
As Nigerians are more into mobility, what is the unique feature of your phone encryption technology and how can you work hand in hand with Telcos?
Wow! Our end-to-end encryption is one of the best things that has happened to Silex Secure and one of the local products in Africa cyber security arena. What we have done as a company is not all about call encryption but more of a state-of-the-art mobile security solution. Some of the amazing features are listed on; http://silexscrypt.com.ng/. Let us take a look at Secure File sharing, one of the key features of the app, which guides against data leak in organisations, you know as at now any information that comes to your phone can be easily shared to others, I mean important documents but we made it in such a way that the original owner of the data has the right to grant permission to a recipient of the file and if permission isn’t granted from the owner, that file can’t be shared, so in a way the originator of the file has full control on who gets access to the file.
Our primary goal of making an encrypted solution for mobile user is to provide Total Privacy and absolute security to mobile users which also applies to calls and also solves the problem of leaked conversations which is often so common in our society today, at least we have seen and read on the news on how High profile, politicians and celebrities and business executives’ private conversations are leaked to the public domain, including personal information, business transactions etc. Working with telecoms provider will be a welcome development we can provide this service as an exclusive product to subscriber.
You develop software in house; can we know what you have developed and where you have deployed?
Yes, we have developed innovative Mobile Apps projects. We currently features a number of projects, but let’s look at just a few: The Towing Apps; this is the easiest and most convenient way to request for a Tow Truck; Just Tap and Tow! Once you set your pickup location, select a Tow Truck of your choice to help you when you need a Tow Truck to rescue you or you just need help with a flat battery or flat tire. Another one is the “Barber Apps” this app is designed for salons. The Salon.ng is a mobile platform for barbers and clients, modernizing the barbershop experience. With Salon.ng you can turn on your apps location, send a request within your location, a close barber sees the request, accepts the request and moves to your location to cut your hair.
We aslo have the “eCounsel Apps”: the eCOUNSEL is an online platform set up to revolutionize the way legal service is accessed. The world of work is evolving and to thrive in this new reality, we are focused on using data and technology as a tool to make legal help more easily accessible by all Nigerians. Then we looked at the cooking gas supply chain ecosystem and built a solution around that space. We called it “Gas Apps”. This is an On-demand gas/fuel/diesel delivery service that delivers fuel to vehicles and diesel for generators and gas for cooking cylinders in any location. This service could come in handy in case of emergency where perhaps a person is stranded on the highway or at home or work. It works in a similar pattern like Uber & bolt Apps.
What about solutions built around intelligence and information gathering, now that we are trying to deepen our security apparatus in the country?
We have designed the OSINT SOLUTIONS that offer direct solutions to the questions around intelligence and information gathering for security agencies. This is a Social Media Intelligence and OSINT products that makes use of and transforms public data such as Social Media and Deep & Dark Web into valuable intelligence. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) platforms support collection and analysis of relevant and targeted information relating to criminal and political open sources. This tool has wide benefits for a number of industries, including; Government and Defence Intelligence agencies, Law Enforcement, Commercial Risk Management companies, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). We also have developed an End-to-Encryption Solutions.
Through our flagship “Invest in Technology” Initiative, which gives people the opportunity to invest in innovative solutions targeted at various sectors, some of our commercial apps are open for outright sales or investment, i.e. for people who are willing to invest their funds in smart technological solutions like ours. Most of our application are being deployed to Private companies, Public sectors, individual and multinational companies.
Do you think that the government is doing enough to ensure that indigenous IT firms like yours scale?
Well, for us as a company, we look beyond government knowing that government can’t meet everyone’s demand. However, government has a major role to play in policy making, provision of infrastructure & patronage and open access to local companies. But this is where we are now, At Silexsecure we build most of our products for international Market not depending on Nigerian government to do business. That is the beauty of Technology. Policy wise not much is being done, intervention funds nothing much is done and in terms of palliative, not much is done either.
Take for example, during this lockdown most of our developers were working remotely, we had to make sure we provide alternative sources of power like Generator and Solar Power for our developer so as to meet projects schedules. Again, you should understand the impact of that to our business if most of our developers staying in various places have access to power and good internet, we won’t spend so much on running cost as a company.
Capacity building and training are the things you do. Can we know how this has been?
Capacity building can’t be over emphasised. As a company, we have done tremendously well in that aspect, we started by training Students in Nigerian universities narrowing down to Government agencies and Law enforcement agencies. Right now, we are doing tailored training based on the products we develop. So we feel training should be attached to a product. Take for an example, Our OSINT project enables us set up training in the area of intelligence and information gathering for security agencies. While we are still accommodating student in Cyber Security, which is a core area of specialization, overall remark has been very impressive, the testimonials are there for people to see.
What are we to expect from you this last quarter?
This is mind blowing, you should expect more innovative solutions from us. As a company we are diving deep to international markets. Right now I am sure sooner or later we will tell you of our ground-breaking technology in the international scene. But be rest assured that we are making Nigerians proud, we are focusing more on Artificial Intelligence which will majorly be used by Defence and military operations, community policing and the AVIATION Sector. So, there is more to expect from us.
Do you think that the Covid 19 will make Nigerian firms to deploy robust IT solution for greater productivity?
This is the time for everyone to think deep. I am sure you have read of innovative and robust solutions that have been developed by various companies in Nigeria within the lock down, though productivity has increased since a lot of companies like ours adopted personal and meaningful products. Imagine all technology companies in Nigeria having their products, I mean personal products not client product knowing fully the impact of this to the economy. But I must tell you productivity in the technology space is very high right now. We have seen clients who have spent so much on freelance platforms, outsourcing jobs to Indian guys, come to us, people really want to take control of most of the product they are developing so on that note I could say Covid-19 is a blessing in disguise. So, I think personally, this is when African countries should really overtake the west.
What are the challenges that you face as an IT firm?
They are the normal challenges that every growing businesses face in Nigeria such as poor Infrastructure, non-existent Government policies/ Enabling Environment, Competition. Though we can’t assume to be a monopoly in a capitalist setting but a bit of protectionist policies matter. Also, Market Access-Intra Africa Trade, Access to capital and Finding the Right developers or skilled I.T personnel to help us scale.
If you are to advice government on IT, what would be your take?
It is a straightforward thing, I would say, that they should encourage local technology and setup an innovative centre where they can easily access local software and purchase some of these great technological solutions for local consumption and deployment. They should also fund local companies to meet government demands. invest in idea, build a better frame work for funding local technology. And lastly, proper policy frame work to guide local content.
“THE WORLD OF WORK IS EVOLVING AND TO THRIVE IN THIS NEW REALITY, WE ARE FOCUSED ON USING DATA AND TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL TO MAKE LEGAL HELP MORE EASILY ACCESSIBLE BY ALL NIGERIANS. THEN WE LOOKED AT THE SUPPLY CHAIN ECOSYSTEM AND BUILT A SOLUTION AROUND THAT SPACE. WE CALLED IT “GAS APP”. THIS IS AN ON-DEMAND GAS/FUEL/DIESEL DELIVERY SERVICE THAT DELIVERS FUEL TO VEHICLES AND DIESEL FOR GENERATORS AND GAS FOR COOKING CYLINDERS IN ANY LOCATION. THIS SERVICE COULD COME IN HANDY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY WHERE PERHAPS A PERSON IS STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY OR AT HOME OR WORK. IT WORKS IN A SIMILAR PATTERN LIKE UBER & BOLT APPS.”
Aimed at supporting the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region, the office is expected to become operational in H2 2021
As part of its continued commitment and ongoing investment in Africa, Facebook (www.Facebook.com) today announced it will be opening an office in Lagos, Nigeria – its second office on the African continent. Aimed at supporting the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region, the office is expected to become operational in H2 2021 and will be the first on the continent to house a team of expert engineers building for the future of Africa and beyond.
Facebook’s office will be home to various teams servicing the continent from across the business, including Sales, Partnerships, Policy, Communications as well as Engineers.
Commenting, Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation said: “The opening of our new office in Lagos, Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations to be developed from the continent and taken to the rest of the world. All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm. We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”
The investment of the new Facebook office follows the 2018 opening of NG_Hub, its first flagship community hub space in Africa in partnership with CcHub, and the 2019 opening of a Small Business Group (SBG) Operations Centre in Lagos, in partnership with Teleperformance. Providing outsourced support to all English-speaking advertisers across Sub-Saharan Africa, the SBG office supports Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) through its Advocacy, Community & Education (ACE) programme, as well as its Marketing Expert sales programmes – all aimed at enabling SMBs to accelerate the growth and development of their businesses.
“Our new office in Nigeria presents an important milestone which further reinforces our ongoing commitment to the region”, commented Kojo Boakye, Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa. “Our mission in Africa is no different to elsewhere in the world – to build community and bring the world closer together, and I’m excited about the possibilities that this will create, not just in Nigeria, but across Africa.”
Since the opening of its first office in 2015, Facebook has made a number of investments across the continent, aimed at supporting and growing the tech ecosystem, expanding and providing reliable connectivity infrastructures and helping businesses to grow locally, regionally and globally. This includes the recent rollout of its SMB Grants programme in Nigeria and South Africa, aimed at supporting over 900 businesses by providing a combination of cash and ad credits to help small businesses as they rebuild from COVID. The development of 2Africa, the world’s largest subsea cable project that will deliver much needed internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa, as well as its ongoing training programmes across the continent which support various communities including students, SMBs, digital creatives, female entrepreneurs, start-up’s and developers.
Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Facebook Africa,said: “We’re delighted to be announcing our new office in Nigeria. Five years on from opening our first office on the continent in Johannesburg, South Africa, we’re continuing to invest in and support local talent, as well as the various communities that use our platforms. The office in Lagos will also be key in helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent.”Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Facebook.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai yesterday, Monday, 14 September 2020, commissioned some landmark Special Intervention Projects in Osun State. At Asamu, Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area (LGA), the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai commissioned a hospital, and, at Kuta, Aiyedire LGA the COAS also commissioned a Bailey Bridge constructed across River Osun at Kuta on KUTA-IKOYI-EDE road.
The two completed projects are named after the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai. The hospital and bailey bridge projects had been initiated and sponsored by the Chief of Army Staff. The projects are part of the COAS several contributions in support of the Nigerian Army non-kinetic line of operations.
The citing of the hospital in Asamu was much welcome by the people. “The hospital and bridge will promote our health, the standard of living of our people and also increase commerce in our area” His Royal Majesty, Aafin Olowu of Kuta, Oba Hammed Adekunle, Makama Oyelude, Tegbosun III stressed.Despite the Nigerian Army giant combat approach to tangling insecurity, the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General TY Buratai identify the vital role of civil military cooperation (CIMIC) projects in deepening Nigerian Army civil military cooperation posture, bridging gap between the Nigerian Army and the civil population, and, curbing the menace of hate speech syndrome.
The Nigerian Army under the present leadership of Lieutenant General TY Buratai has exhibited high level of commitment, dedication, preparedness and above all; resolve in drawing the civil populace closer to her army, the Nigerian Army through projects targeted towards winning hearts and minds.
These CIMIC sponsored projects are very core to creating strategic naratives and winning hearts and minds. The battle of naratives is crucial to the fight against insurgency. Non-kinetic line of operations is a force multiplier and enabler in revising civil populace narative.The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai in his remarks expressed appreciation to all the State Governors within 2 Division AOR for their selfless contributions and support of Units and formations under their respective domain.
The COAS also thanked His Imperial Majesty O’oni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II for his contribution to boosting the Nigerian Army against COVID-19 epidemics. It is worth noting that at the heat of the epidemics His Imperial Majesty O’oni of Ife donated the motorised modular fumigators to the Nigerian Army. A concept initiated and developed by House of Oduduwa Machine and Tools under the supervision of His Imperial Majesty O’oni of Ife, to fight against the spread of the epidermic.At the commissioning ceremony His Excellency the Executive Governor of Osun State Mr Adegboyega Oyetola was present.
His Imperial Majesty O’oni of Ife Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II was ably represented. His Royal Majesty Aafin Olowu of Kuta Oba Hammed Adekunle Makama Oyelude Tegbosun III added colour and wealth of experience to the ceremony. Senior Government officials, senior military and paramilitary officers serving and retired were also present.The commissioning ceremony climaxed when His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Osun State, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola received the COAS in a dinner organised in honour of the Chief of Army Staff, at the Government House, Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
During the party, among senior officers present was the Chief of Policy and Plans, Army Headquarters, Abuja, Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun, former Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Ipoola Alani Akinrinade, the Chief of Training and Operations, Army Headquarters, Abuja, Maj Gen NE Angbazo, Commander Infantry Corps, Maj Gen SO Olabanji, and many other senior officers (both serving and retired) were in attendance including senior Osun State government functionaries, to mention but few.
In today’s highly connected world, the process of managing contact information for businesses and organisations can be quite fragmented. While business owners and managers understand the need to always have well-coordinated presence and visibility, the quest gets complicated by all the information available out there. And while directories and information portals provide listing services to connect businesses and customers, things still get difficult due to other challenges including ‘volatile’ street naming systems, non-availability of ‘functional’ ZIP or Postcode systems, relocating/expanding business presence amidst many other issues
To accurately connect with businesses and services calls for extensive disambiguation both for the businesses and their customers, an indigenous IT firm, DigitalRig is unveiling a seamless Business and Information Directory called Beekeys. The service brings a number intuitive tools together to help improve the visibility and access by customers to businesses in a friendly, efficient way. The main feature is centred around the dynamic linking of a search friendly and more memorable, unique 3-12 alphanumeric characters tag called a BEEKEY (Business Key) and chosen by business owners/managers. The information linked to the beekey can then be securely managed by the authorised users using simple menus and triggers.
Speaking on the importance of Beekeys, Dipe Adedeji, the Chief Executive of DigitalRig Limited opined that the Beekeys is a platform that greatly improves the way business contact information is managed, shared and used by businesses and their customers especially in comparatively poorly chartered towns or cities. ‘With Beekeys’ a number of issues that come with the dynamism of owning or managing your contact information and brand are solved in a very simple and effective manner. This will be very useful for Startups and Micro-Small sized enterprises located in the more rural setting. It will also prove very effective in managing location information for large organisations and/or brands with presence in multiple locations.
And it is not just about businesses. The portal provides a location sensitive listing for public utilities and critical formations such as medical emergency, fire and security as are available in different locations. This feature will give users of the directory quick and easy access to the formations for Fire, Police, Emergency Medical services and more within their immediate location. Search users stand to gain a lot by registering as well because of certain features that will allow them to communicate seamlessly with listed businesses.
The platform is mobile and user friendly. The company announced that registration and listing of businesses and organisations (including beekeys) on the platform is free. There are however, several premium tools available to be taken advantage of such as multi-location listing, customer relationship management, brand promotion and more.
According to the firm, a lot of work is being done toward a December 2020 launch. Businesses owners in the meanwhile can register and list their businesses (or do a time limited beekey reservation) on the beta version of the portal at www.beekeys.com/nigeria. Beekeys are available on a first come first served basis with a few simple guidelines:
Must be greater than but less than 3 alphanumeric characters
Unique (trademarked names will be rescinded on valid dispute)
The need to have data hosted severally has been encouraged by the government and stakeholders, known as data sovereignty. CLOUDWAFER, a Lagos based hosting company talks about the challenges and prospects of hosting in Nigeria. Olawole Olayinka, Head of Marketing at Cloudwafer in an exclusive interview chat with Anthony Nwosu
Cloudwafer is an ICT Firm, can we know specifically the area of ICT you are?
We offer simple, fast and reliable Cloud VPS hosting for business applications. Cloudwafer is an African Cloud hosting company, established with the vision of providing highly available, scalable, and performance-based cloud hosting solutions, with a team that boasts over a decade of hosting and infrastructure experience supporting large-scale customers. We realized that cloud computing is the way to go and also economically viable for most organizations so we are in the business of bring cloud and making it affordable to Nigerians. In a nutshell, Cloudwafer is an African Cloud hosting company, established with the vision of providing highly available, scalable, and performance-based web hosting solutions.
Cloud Hosting is one of your cores, can we know a bit about this?
A cloud server is a virtual server that runs in a cloud computing environment. It is built and delivered in a cloud environment via the internet to the end user. Our cloud hosting service also known as Virtual Private Servers (VPS) offers highly available enterprise-grade cloud technology to businesses with the advantage of flexibility, expert support and extreme security. Our cloud services are powered by Tier III Datacenter and premium upstream networks. Cloudwafer delivers custom cloud hosting with huge room for expansion so that we can cater for small and large scale operations instantly and without disruptions.
What prompted you to go into this line of service delivery?
It is very common for businesses in Nigeria to rely on foreign hosting platforms to cater for their cloud hosting needs. Our decision to start a cloud hosting platform was made out of the need to bridge this gap in the Nigerian market. We studied the market and identified the reasons why people preferred to host outside the country instead of locally. Some of these reasons include downtimes, poor customer support and a few others. This helped us know the weak points and strengthen them. We brought a hosting platform that delivers and cancels the need to seek hosting companies outside Nigeria. One unique thing about our hosting service is that our data is hosted in a Tier III data centre here in Lagos, thus reducing latency for anyone using our hosting service here in Nigeria. A lot of people do not realize that the closer your data is housed to you, the faster it is to communicate with your data remotely. Latency reduction was a major reason why we decided to deliver cloud hosting services here in Nigeria.
Hosting is one thing that you have demonstrated capacity in, can you say that Nigerians are coming to terms in hosting locally?
While we would love to say that most Nigerians host their cloud locally, we cannot. The terrain has improved a lot but it is not where it should be. Most people do not realize that the distance data has to travel between user and server affects the speed. The number of ‘hops’ from router to router slows down delivery of data to the user. Another major factor is that most Nigerian hosting companies are resellers who resell hosting plans for foreign companies. Effectively, when you think you are hosting locally, you may just find out that your host is a reseller for a foreign host and that your server is in faraway Europe or America.
They say that hosting in Nigeria is a bit risky and expensive, what is your take?
Any venture becomes risky when you patronize unreliable vendors. Expensive is relative too. If you are getting your money’s worth, you cannot say a service is too expensive. It is when you pay and do not get good service that the service becomes expensive. We can confidently say that hosting with Cloudwafer is not risky nor is it expensive. In the last five years we have powered several businesses, small and big, with average uptime of 99.9%.
You operate in a Tier III data center; does it have any effect on your services?
There are several advantages to operating in a Tier III DATA center. One of them is uptime. Our data center boasts of 100% availability since launch. The Data Centre facility and business is certified to ISO 27001, the global information security quality standard which is ideal for financial service providers looking for maximum security.
What are the challenges that you encounter in running this business?
Like we mentioned earlier, a lot of Nigerians still patronize foreign hosting companies when they can get better services from a local company. We are faced with the challenge of convincing them to come on board. Their reluctance is understandable considering what bad experience they have had in the past with local hosts. Another major challenge is the cost of running a business in Nigeria, which we suppose is a general challenge to all entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Cloud hosting and dedicated server are the services that you offer, can we know how they have been accepted in Nigeria?
Both Cloud hosting and dedicated server have been accepted in Nigeria. A lot of businesses in Nigeria, ranging from small businesses to huge corporations use Cloud hosting hosting services for their websites and other internet platforms. Also, several companies with unique data hosting needs use dedicated servers in Nigeria. So, yes, acceptance in Nigeria is picking up too.
Data Centre and digital transformation work hand in hand, but there is a gap in addressing the green market why is it like this?
The simple answer is that energy sources in Nigeria are not eco-friendly. You have to power with diesel generators most of the time. Using environment-friendly energy sources is not a viable option in Nigeria because of availability. Addressing the green market is going to require a lot of transformation in public policy and the improvement of infrastructure so that businesses can easily switch to eco-friendly energy sources.
“…a lot of Nigerians still patronize foreign hosting companies when they can get better services from a local company. We are faced with the challenge of convincing them to come on board. Their reluctance is understandable considering what bad experience they have had in the past with local hosts. Another major challenge is the cost of running a business in Nigeria, which we suppose is a general challenge to all entrepreneurs in Nigeria”
Why is the hosting cost still high in Nigeria?
Like we said earlier, the cost of doing business is high. However, it is not entirely true that the cost of hosting is high in Nigeria. Compared to what is offered by hosting companies outside Nigeria and factoring in foreign exchange, Cloudwafer offers competitive prices for all our hosting services.
NIRA has encouraged registrars like you to push the .ng and .com.ng domain names, but it seems Nigerians are still stuck with ,com , how can this be changed?
You would agree that the .com domains were quite common already before .ng and .com.ng were introduced. They have gained wide acceptance among internet users and the first impulse of any web browser is to add the .com extension to any name they are given. However, NIRA has been proactive in their campaign for the use of .com.ng and .ng so we can see improvements already. The .ng awards by NIRA are a really nice initiative to drive this. We at Cloudwafer also do our bit; you can get a .com.ng domain on Cloudwafer for as low as 450 naira.
In the area of data sovereignty, do you think Nigeria is doing enough to have majority of our data hosted locally?
There have been discussions on the issue of local data residency in Nigeria and with the availability of data centres in Nigeria; it does not seem an impossible task. However, we still see that a lot of Nigerian data is hosted outside the country. The government and the relevant agencies would need to improve enforcement of data sovereignty policies. Hopefully, this position will change and we will start to see a massive movement of Nigerian data to Nigerian data centres as is the practice in Europe and America.
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“Our decision to start a cloud hosting platform was made out of the need to bridge this gap in the Nigerian market. We studied the market and identified the reasons why people preferred to host outside the country instead of locally. Some of these reasons include downtimes, poor customer support and a few others. This helped us know the weak points and strengthen them.”
…Charges stakeholders on telecom infrastructure protection
…Warns service providers against unwholesome practices
Major mobile network operators (MNOs) in the country recorded 9,077 cases of service outages on their networks in the second quarter of the year, resulting in unexpected disruptions to operators’ network quality of service (QoS) delivery and intermittent quality of experience (QoE) by the consumers, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), NCC, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, disclosed this in a presentation delivered during the first Virtual Telecoms Consumer Parliament (VTCP) hosted by the Commission recently in Abuja.
According to Adewolu, of the 9,077 service outages recorded by the operators, 3,585 were caused by incidences of denial of access to telecoms sites for maintenance, 4,972 were triggered by incidences of fibre cuts from construction activities and vandalism while 520 cases were as a result of incidences of generator and battery theft at sites.
A collocation Mast In Lagos State. picture by ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU
Adewolu, however, noted that in a proactive step to mitigate the challenges, the Commission had swiftly responded by taking some major decisions to mitigate any unforeseen challenges that may cause serious disruptions in service delivery to the consumers throughout the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said, “the Commission approved resource sharing by operators throughout the period of COVID-19 pandemic.” These include fibre optic cables and other resources in the event of cable cuts and other unforeseen developments.
“We also ensured that the service providers meet the needs of their teeming consumers by securing Right of Passage (RoP) for all telecommunications officials and staff for easy movement during the lockdown. This was to ensure ease of movement to service base stations and other telecom facilities and equipment,” among others.
The ECSM called on all stakeholders to join hands with the Commission in enlightening all citizens on the need to protect the telecom infrastructure in their domain without which quality of service delivery will be hampered.
He noted the numerous complaints received from consumers by the Commission since the outbreak of the pandemic were indicative of the widening gap between the consumer QoS and the QoE provided by the service providers, which, according to him, needed to be addressed.
He charged operators on the need to increase and improve their network capacity following the unprecedented increase in consumer demand.
“Also, service providers must embark on pervasive consumer education and enlightenment campaign about data usage and billing to ensure their subscribers have all the required information to make informed decisions so as get value for money spent. Operators also need to train and equip their customer care personnel on consumer complaint management as well as ensuring that consumer complaints are resolved conclusively and in line with the revised Service Level Agreement (SLA),” Adewolu said.
He warned service providers to refrain from indulging in unwholesome practices such as modification of data plan without informing the consumers, putting out promotional advertorials without prior approval by the Commission, changing the names and nomenclature of promotions from what was approved, among others to short-change the consumers, warning that the Commission will not hesitate to sanction erring operators.
The ECSM noted that the Consumer Code of Practice requires that once a contract agreement is signed, both parties should adhere to the contract terms and conditions and where a change is required, the validity period should end before any modification is effected.
