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Don Proposes AI Solution For Insecurity, Unemployment

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Don Proposes AI Solution For Insecurity, Unemployment

A don and Vice Chancellor of the Nigerian British University, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, has advocated for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence in tackling the rising insecurity in the country.

Fawehinmi also said that if effectively deployed, AI will create more jobs.

He said this while answering questions from newsmen shortly after the maiden inaugural lecture of the Nigerian British University in Asa, a border community between Abia and Rivers states

The inaugural lecture titled ‘Igniting African Renaissance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Reclaiming Innovation and Reimagining Futures’. was delivered by Prof. Ekpe Okorafor, who is the Dean, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology in the institution.

The Vice Chancellor further said AI will engender precision and boost manufacturing, improve economic planning and other spheres of human life and expressed the optimism that governments at all levels will leverage on the revolution to do things better.

The don stated, “Artificial Intelligence will promote the Nigerian economy through digitalizing most of the processes which we do manually.

“I’m not saying it will put people out of jobs but it will create precision in manufacturing, in the educational sector, even in fine arts, design and many other disciplines.

“So AI has come to stay. It will also enable planning, planning as an institution as an establishment because it could handle big data, analyze it and make decisions based on the data that was given to it. So it has come to stay and it will play a major role in aviation, transport industry, logistic supply chain management and so on. So it will play a positive role in the economy.”

On insecurity, he said AI provides ready and scientific ways of tackling the challenge, saying, “Very well, AI can effectively do that because the robotics and other aspects of it can be used to detect threats and act in good time without much casualties.

“So it will be able to help us in that regard through the searchlights and on ground, in the regimented pattern, the way the military works. So AI has come to stay.”

The VC commended the inaugural lecturer who he describes as a resource person and an expert in AI, adding that he (Prof. Okorafor) has found the AI club which the institution has adopted.

“As part of our mantra we want to deploy e-learning, e-teaching, that is digitize the campus. That is part of our vision and our mission and that is what we try to encourage our students to be, and they are forward-looking students.

“They have already formed the AI club and in that club they are beginning to carry out a lot of innovative and enterprising projects you know as a way of promoting Artificial Intelligence in their own domain.

“And they are domesticating whatever they are doing. So it will help us to preserve our values and culture because it is home-grown and they are going to own it. NBU will be at the forefront of that”, Prof. Fawehinmi stated.

Earlier, the inaugural lecturer, Prof. Okorafor stresses the need for the domesticate AI in order to reflect the African culture and experiences.

He added, “The key questions are that when we are building these models, the question is who owns the data? Whose biases are being encoded in those models whether it is unconscious or conscious.

“And so if your data is not included then those models will not represent you. And so the AI tools and systems we are currently consuming don’t represent us.

“So what I mean by African centered Architecture is where we begin to encode our cultures, our traditions, our stories, nuances so that when we interact with these AI systems they know us, the models can respond to us not just the way it has been done that is more important.

“So that is really the heart of it is to make sure that it represents the African experience.”

He allayed fears that AI will lead to job loses, stating that it may not be completely ruled out, more jobs will actually be created with home-grown AI systems.

Okorafor who is also a research scholar at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy said, “Well I think transformation. You cannot because of fear holding onto the past not venture into the future. If we truly build AI systems that represent us, that means story tellers will become relevant.

“There will be new jobs, people who need to verify. So you may lose some jobs, but you create more. So been aware of the transformation means that we get to create that environment because some of the jobs we will lose will also mean we can create more.”

The don continued, “1So I think we need to change that thinking. That means we also have to be innovative. We need to see what the possibilities are. Right now you can actually see that there are new jobs, new opportunities being created.

“I mentioned story telling. Africa is rich in culture, we can be custodians. So suddenly now many people can begin to create digital opportunities where they can begin not to go to the villages and talk to the elders and create that information.

“Who knows that job in the future, who knows, but we can’t be sleeping, the world will move ahead. So we need to make this truly African.”

Punchng.com

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El Rufa’i Ya Fara Samun Nasara a kan Gwamnati bayan Kotu Ta Soke Wani Hukunci 

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Kotun daukaka kara da ke zamanta a Kaduna ta soke hukuncin da kotun tarayya ta yanke a wata kara da tsohon gwamna, Nasir El-Rufai, ya shigar a kan majalisar dokokin jihar.

A hukuncin da kotun ta yanke kan ƙorafin daukaka kara mai lamba CA/K/240/2024, kotun ta bayyana cewa an samu kura-kurai a shari’ar da aka gudanar a ranar 18 ga watan Yuli, 2024.

The Sun ta wallafa cewa kotun ta ce ba a mika wa Nasir El-Rufai takardar sanarwar kotu yadda ya kamata ba, kuma hakan ya hana shi damar mayar da martani ga takardun da wadanda ake kara suka gabatar.

New Telegraph ta ruwaito cewa kotun daukaka karar ta bayyana cewa hukuncin da alkalin kotun tarayya, Mai shari’a R.M. Aikawa, ya yanke a ranar 30 ga watan Yuli, 2024, bai inganta ba.

Saboda haka, kotun ta ayyana hukuncin a matsayin maras tushe tare da umartar a mayar da shari’ar zuwa kotun tarayya domin a sake ba wa wani alkalin daban.

Kotun ta jaddada cewa isar da takardun sanarwar shari’a yadda ya kamata na da matukar muhimmanci wajen tabbatar da hurumin kotu.

Ta kuma ce hana Nasir El-Rufai damar kare kansa ya sabawa ka’idojin shari’a da ke karkashin dokar kare hakkin dan Adam.

Tun da farko, El-Rufai ya shigar da karar ne a shekarar 2024 domin neman a kare masa hakkinsa na dan Adam.

Ya zargi majalisar dokokin jihar Kaduna da hana shi cikakken damar kare kansa yayin binciken da ta gudanar a kansa.

Wannan hukunci na kotun daukaka kara ya zama babban nasara ga tsohon gwamnan, domin ya ba shi damar sake gabatar da karar tasa a gaban kotu.

Hakan na nufin za a sake duba dukkanin bayanan shari’ar daga tushe a karkashin sabon alkalin da za a nada don sauraron ƙarar.

A wani labarin, kun ji cewa kotu ta sahalewa hukumar ICPC ta ci gaba da tsare tsohon gwamnan Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai a binciken da ta ke masa.

Hukumar CPC na zargin El-Rufa’i da almundahana yayin da ta garkame shi na sama da kwanaki 20 bayan ya fito daga ofishin EFCC da ya kai kansa.

Tuni lauyansa ya garzaya kotu yana neman a soke sabon umarnin da hukumar yaki da yi wa tattalin arziki ta’annati ta samu, inda ya ke ganin an saɓa ka’ida.

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NUC Approves More Postgraduate Programmes For Atiba Varsity

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The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved more postgraduate programmes for the Atiba University Oyo (AUO), Oyo State.

In a letter addressed to the Vice Chancellor of AUO, Professor Sunday Olawale Okeniyi, signed by the NUC Director Academic Planning, Abubakar M. Girei, the commission approved 11 courses for the institution at the postgraduate, Master’s and PhD levels.

According to the letter, NUC arrived at the decision, following resource verification carried out by panels of experts on some proposed programmes at the Atiba University Oyo.

Part of the letter reads:

“I am directed to inform the Vice Chancellor that the Executive Secretary has considered and approved the establishment of the full-time mode of the following postgraduate programmes to be run in the main campus of the university with effect from 2025/2026 academic session—PGD Accounting, PGD, M.Sc. Business Administration, PGD, M.Sc. & Ph.D. Public Administration, PGD, M.Sc. & Ph.D. Computer Science, MBA Business Administration, M.Sc. & Ph.D. Political Science, M.Sc. & Ph.D. International relations, M.Sc. & Ph.D. Economics M.Sc. & Ph.D. Sociology, M.Sc. & Ph.D. English and M.Sc. Nursing.

The President/ Founder, James Adesokan Ojebode, PhD therefore uses the golden opportunity to congratulate the entire Atiba University Oyo community.

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Culpability Of High-Profile Nigerians In Illegal SIM Registration

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The registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) through third parties, recently identified by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as a problem threatening the integrity of Nigeria’s telecommunication landscape is serious enough to warrant close attention by all stakeholders. By extension, the issue amounts to illegal SIM registration, and thereby threatens national security.

This time, the spotlight has been turned on a seemingly innocuous but deeply problematic practice—the delegation of SIM registration to domestic staff, drivers, and other third parties by “high-profile” Nigerians.

The NCC’s recent pronouncements, particularly from its Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, highlight a troubling hypocrisy at the heart of this challenge. Precisely, Maida had during an interaction with the media, stated that there were no more cases of unregistered SIMs in the country’s telecommunication networks, the NCC having concluded the exercise long ago.

“Right now, I can authoritatively say that there is no unregistered SIM operating in the network, even though there might be issues, whereby a registered SIM is being used by somebody who is not the person who registered it.

“And I think this is where all of us are guilty because if you send your driver or house help to go and register a SIM simply because you don’t want your identity to be known, you are committing a crime”, Maida added. He noted that NCC could not be held responsible for situations where some registered SIMs are used by people other than those who registered them.

Admitting the need for enlightenment on the implications of such an action, Maida urged perpetrators to desist from such activities capable of serious embarrassment.

“On our part, we will try and do more to educate people on the consequences of such actions because if anything happens, nobody will listen to their story of registering SIMs for people at a fee of about N5, 000.”

Today, while there are over 300 million connected lines, 172 million, according to the NCC, are very active as of July 2025. SIM registration in Nigeria has evolved over the years, starting with a 2010 directive from the NCC to all MNOs. This initial effort aimed to curb the use of unregistered SIM cards for criminal activities. However, the process was fraught with challenges, including data integrity issues and the sale of pre-registered SIMs.

The current system represents a more robust approach, with the NIN serving as the core unique identifier. The government’s decision to enforce the linkage has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of active mobile subscriptions as unlinked lines were disconnected.

For years, the NCC has worked to enforce a robust SIM registration process, culminating in the linkage with the National Identification Number (NIN). The goal is clear: to create a verifiable database of subscribers that can be used to track and apprehend criminals who rely on anonymous communication to perpetrate their nefarious acts, from kidnapping and armed robbery to financial fraud. The success of this initiative is predicated on the honesty of every single subscriber. Yet, according to the NCC, this is where the system is being compromised, not by the masses, but by those who should, by virtue of their position and education, be setting a better example.

The act of sending a driver or domestic aide to register a SIM card is often born of a desire for convenience or, more disturbingly, a deliberate attempt to conceal one’s identity. The NCC rightly labels this a “crime” and a significant loophole. While the biometric systems in place might prevent the activation of a completely unregistered SIM, they cannot stop a registered SIM from being used by someone other than its true owner. When a crime is committed with a SIM card registered in a domestic worker’s name, it is the innocent party who is implicated, facing potential legal consequences and social embarrassment.

This practice is a dangerous form of negligence. It undermines the very foundation of the national SIM-NIN linkage policy. The NCC’s efforts to create a secure and traceable telecom environment are rendered less effective when a segment of the population, often the most influential, willfully circumvents the rules. It is an act of privilege that disregards the collective good.

While the NCC is right to call out this behavior, the responsibility does not fall on the public alone. The commission and its partners, the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), must also take a hard look at their own systems. How are these delegates able to successfully register SIMs on behalf of their employers? Are there weaknesses in the verification process at the point of registration? The NCC must not only educate the public on the dangers but also work with MNOs to tighten up their registration protocols to make such fraudulent delegation impossible.

Further, a more visible and stringent enforcement mechanism is needed. The NCC has often warned of arrests and prosecution, but tangible examples of high-profile individuals facing consequences for this specific offense are scarce. Without a credible threat of action, the warnings may be dismissed as mere rhetoric.

Ultimately, solving the problem of illegal SIM registration requires a multi-pronged approach. It starts with a change in mindset among the elite, who must recognize that their actions have broader societal implications. It continues with the NCC and MNOs strengthening their systems to eliminate loopholes. And it is sustained by consistent and fair enforcement that holds everyone accountable, regardless of their social standing. The NCC’s latest warning is a call to action—a reminder that a secure digital future for Nigeria is a shared responsibility; and no one is above the law.

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